Why Gen Z Loves 鈥淭he Parable of the Sower鈥�
When the great sci-fi writer Octavia Butler wrote her seminal book, Parable of the Sower, in 1993, she imagined 15-year-old protagonist Lauren Olamina starting her Earthseed journal on July 20, 2024.
That date has just passed, and, according to reporter Aina Marzia, Butler鈥檚 work strikes a powerful chord with Generation Z readers. In a new story for 猫咪社区! that probes the source of this affinity, Marzia makes the case that Butler鈥檚 solutions to late-stage capitalism are inspiring a new generation grappling with our contemporary dystopian reality.聽
A journalist from El Paso, Texas, and an incoming freshman at Princeton University, Marzia spoke with 猫咪社区! Senior Editor Sonali Kolhatkar on 猫咪社区! Presents: Rising Up With Sonali about Butler鈥檚 enduring popularity, especially among youth.
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Sonali Kolhatkar
joined 猫咪社区! in summer 2021, building on a long and decorated career in broadcast and print journalism. She is an award-winning multimedia journalist, and host and creator of聽猫咪社区! Presents: Rising Up with Sonali, a nationally syndicated television and radio program airing on Free Speech TV and dozens of independent and community radio stations. She is also Senior Correspondent with the Independent Media Institute鈥檚 Economy for All project where she writes a weekly column. She is the author of聽Rising Up: The Power of Narrative in Pursuing Racial Justice聽(2023) and聽Bleeding Afghanistan: Washington, Warlords, and the Propaganda of Silence聽(2005). Her forthcoming book is called聽Talking About Abolition聽(Seven Stories Press, 2025). Sonali is co-director of the nonprofit group, Afghan Women鈥檚 Mission which she helped to co-found in 2000. She has a Master鈥檚 in Astronomy from the University of Hawai鈥檌, and two undergraduate degrees in Physics and Astronomy from the University of Texas at Austin. Sonali reflects on 鈥淢y Journey From Astrophysicist to Radio Host鈥� in her 2014聽聽of the same name.
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