Thank you for this! I've thought a lot about Earthseed, but I've never considered it's lack of an underworld. I've thought that Earthseed lacks transcendence because the "heaven" it holds out is just another physical place, and one that is actually much less nurturing of human life than the Earth. From what I've read, in Butler's drafts of the third book, space colonization always ended in tragedy, the hopeful vision of Earthseed unfulfilled. This actually seems much more inline with Butler's other work, where there is no escape from physical and interpersonal struggles of human existence. I'll have to think more about what an Earthseed underworld might look like and imply.
Question: Did Octavia Butler consciously call herself an "afrofuturist" or express admiration for that movement, or has she been retroactively adopted by afrofuturists?
Thought: This makes me want to write about my claim that Olaminia/Butler suggest God is the world, which you addressed. I think I was mistaken, but the mistake wasn't so much a misunderstanding of earthseed, as an unconscious merger of Olamina/Butler's theology, and my own, which I think is worth articulating.
I don’t know that Butler would have self identified as an afrofuturist. She may have, but I don’t know. I certainly know that she’s been described that way.
I always encourage people to explore and articulate their own theological intuitions! If earthseed helps you explore that, I say certainly write about it!
Thank you for this! I've thought a lot about Earthseed, but I've never considered it's lack of an underworld. I've thought that Earthseed lacks transcendence because the "heaven" it holds out is just another physical place, and one that is actually much less nurturing of human life than the Earth. From what I've read, in Butler's drafts of the third book, space colonization always ended in tragedy, the hopeful vision of Earthseed unfulfilled. This actually seems much more inline with Butler's other work, where there is no escape from physical and interpersonal struggles of human existence. I'll have to think more about what an Earthseed underworld might look like and imply.
BTW, I write meditations based on the Earthseed writings (among other things) at ChangeShaper.blog: https://changeshapers.blog/category/earthseed-meditations/
Thank you for sharing the link, I will check it out!
Really enjoyable background to and analysis of the books!
Thank you!
I loved reading this. A questions and a thought:
Question: Did Octavia Butler consciously call herself an "afrofuturist" or express admiration for that movement, or has she been retroactively adopted by afrofuturists?
Thought: This makes me want to write about my claim that Olaminia/Butler suggest God is the world, which you addressed. I think I was mistaken, but the mistake wasn't so much a misunderstanding of earthseed, as an unconscious merger of Olamina/Butler's theology, and my own, which I think is worth articulating.
I don’t know that Butler would have self identified as an afrofuturist. She may have, but I don’t know. I certainly know that she’s been described that way.
I always encourage people to explore and articulate their own theological intuitions! If earthseed helps you explore that, I say certainly write about it!