Ray Bradbury and Mr. Electrico’s Magic Sword

Ray Bradbury

It wasn’t the great science fiction novels, “Fahrenheit 451” or “The Martian Chronicles,” that most reflected Ray Bradbury’s life, but a play he wrote—”Something Wicked This Way Comes”—

“It’s a metaphor for all of life,” Bradbury said of his play, which you may know better as a 1983 movie starring Jonathan Pryce, Jason Robards and Diane Ladd.

“You write a thing. You don’t know why you’re doing it or what it’s all about. It’s got to be passionate and automatic and intuitive, and when you’re all done, it’s all about life. It’s all about being born, growing up, being afraid, knowledge of death—whatever—a little of everything.”

Read portions of my 1997 interview with Bradbury, in which he discusses the childhood experiences that informed “Something Wicked,” spurred him to begin writing, and taught him how to live… on Forbes.