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Sherds Podcast

Sherds Podcast is a journey through the outskirts of literary history. Each episode, we take an in-depth look at a lesser-known literary text and attempt to give it the critical attention it deserves: books that are criminally overlooked, have struggled to reach an anglophone audience, or are just downright odd. Hosted by Sam Pulham and Rob Prouse.

#26 Bloodchild and Other Stories by Octavia Butler

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Octavia Butler’s Bloochild and Other Stories was originally published in 1995.  The book collects seven stories from throughout Butler’s career, and in this episode we focus on the title story, which depicts a social and sexual relationship between humans and a race of alien beings.  Later, we discuss the penultimate story in the collection, Amnesty, which explores the complexities of confrontation with the alien other.   

Over the course of the episode, we examine the degree to which the stories may be said to engage with slavery and American history, and consider Butler’s implementation of the ‘pregnant man’ motif. 

Bibliography:

‘Mama's Baby, Papa's Slavery? The Problem and Promise of Mothering in Octavia E. Butler’s Bloodchild’ by Kristen Lillvis in MELUS, Vol. 39, No. 4, Gender, Transnationalism, and Ethnic American Identity (Winter, 2014)

Octavia E. Butler: Modern Masters of Science Fiction (University of Illinois, 2016)  by Gerry Canavan

LiteratureSam Pulhambloodchild, octaviabutler, bodyhorror, sciencefiction, octaviaebutler