Ray Bradbury

An American science fiction writer. Rather than a specialist in science fiction, he is a fantasist who uses science fiction as a creative medium to freely develop his own fantasies, and is regarded as a leading figure in fantasy literature, following in the footsteps of science fiction lyric poet Poe. An avid science fiction fan since childhood, he began publishing short stories in specialist magazines in 1941, and as his reputation grew after 1945, general magazines such as Collier's began to publish his works. The ten years from 1945 to 1955 were his most productive creative period, and during this time he won the O. Henry Award twice, in 1947 and 1948, for outstanding short stories. In addition to short story collections such as "October Twilight Land" (1955), an expanded version of his debut collection of short stories, "Carnival in the Dark," his masterpieces "The Martian Chronicles" (1950) and "The Tattooed Man" (1953), which established the basic tones of his style of lyricism and fantasy, nostalgia and a sense of loss, he also wrote full-length novels such as "Fahrenheit 451" (1953), which deals with the burning of books in a future world, and "Something Comes Down the Road" (1962), a gothic-style fantasy novel in which the past, present, and future intertwine. From the late 1970s to the 1980s, his creative output gradually decreased, with only a collection of plays, Pillar of Fire (1975), a collection of short stories, The Wonder of Two of Us Being Here (1988), Faster Than a Blink (1996), and Night Train to Babylon (1997), among others, during which he served as producer for the stage and television adaptations of his own work, The Martian Chronicles. His other works include collections of plays, poetry, and full-length mystery novels, bringing his total to nearly 30 books.

[Jun Atsugi]

"Pillar of Fire" translated by Norio Ito (1980, Yamato Shobo)" ▽ "Bradbury is Coming: The Joy of Novels, Where is Bradbury Going: Corridors of the Future" translated by Takayoshi Ogawa (1996, Shobunsha)" ▽ "Night Train to Babylon" translated by Mizuhito Kanehara (1998, Kadokawa Haruki Corporation)" ▽ "Faster than the Blink" translated by Norio Ito (1999, Hayakawa Publishing)" ▽ "Black Carnival, The Martian Chronicles, The Tattooed Man, Fahrenheit 451 translated by Norio Ito (Hayakawa Bunko)" ▽ "October is the Land of Twilight" translated by Toshiyasu Uno (Sogen SF Bunko)" ▽ "Something is Coming the Road" translated by Yasuo Okubo (Sogen SF Bunko)

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

アメリカのSF作家。SF専門の作家というよりは、SF的趣向を創作の媒体として利用し自己の幻想を奔放に展開するファンタジストで、SFの叙情詩人、ポーの衣鉢を継ぐ幻想文学の第一人者という評価を受けている。少年時代からの熱烈なSFファンで、1941年から専門誌に短編を発表し、1945年以降声価が高まるにつれて『コリアーズ』などの一般誌が彼の作品を掲載するようになった。1945年から1955年に至る10年間が彼の創作のもっとも充実した時期であり、この間、1947年と1948年には優れた短編に与えられるO・ヘンリー賞を2回受賞している。処女短編集『闇(やみ)のカーニバル』の増補版『十月はたそがれの国』（1955）、叙情と幻想、郷愁と喪失感など作風の基調を確立した、代表作『火星年代記』（1950）、『刺青(いれずみ)の男』（1953）などの短編集のほかに、長編としては未来世界における焚書(ふんしょ)を主題にした『華氏451度』（1953）、過去と現在と未来が交錯するゴシック風の幻想小説『何かが道をやってくる』（1962）などがある。1970年代後半から1980年代にかけてはしだいに創作が少なくなり、戯曲集『火の柱』（1975）、短編集『二人がここにいる不思議』（1988）、同『瞬きよりも速く』（1996）、同『バビロン行の夜行列車』（1997）などを数えるだけであり、その間には自作『火星年代記』の舞台劇化やテレビ番組化のプロデューサーを務めた。作品にはほかに戯曲集、詩集、長編ミステリーなどもあり、著作の総数は30冊近い。

［厚木　淳］

『伊藤典夫訳『火の柱』（1980・大和書房）』▽『小川高義訳『ブラッドベリがやってくる　小説の愉快』『ブラッドベリはどこへゆく　未来の回廊』（1996・晶文社）』▽『金原瑞人訳『バビロン行きの夜行列車』（1998・角川春樹事務所）』▽『伊藤典夫訳『瞬きよりも速く』（1999・早川書房）』▽『伊藤典夫訳『黒いカーニバル』『火星年代記』『刺青の男』『華氏451度』（ハヤカワ文庫）』▽『宇野利泰訳『10月はたそがれの国』（創元SF文庫）』▽『大久保康雄訳『何かが道をやってくる』（創元SF文庫）』

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