1. There Will Come Soft Rains
Ray Bradbury

2. Ray Bradbury
1920 – 2012
Born in Illinois, Bradbury had a great imagination
As a child, he often had nightmares and dreams which he used as ideas for some of his stories

3. His Life Bradbury began publishing work in high school
He first published in sci-fi and detective magazines; soon, his work was accepted in “main stream” magazines
He met many famous people from Hollywood, and enjoyed film and plays

4. Bradbury was married once, and had four daughters
He was raised a Baptist, but refused to allow anyone to label his beliefs
He attributed his writing skills as a gift from God, for which he was very grateful
He was close friends with Star Trek’s Gene Roddenbury
Bradbury died in after a long illness; he was 91

5. His Work
He resisted being labeled a science fiction writer; he felt that his work was more fantasy
He was not interested in just shocking the reader; he wanted them to see what the future might hold
He wrote about censorship, pollution, racism, and nuclear war
He is known as “a writer with a conscience”

6. He wrote many plays as he loved the theater
He was an avid supporter of libraries; he did not have the money for a college education and said that “libraries educated” him
Several of his stories were adapted for Alfred Hitchcock
He hosted his own television show from – 1992 which presented 65 of his stories

7. There Will Come Soft Rains, page 199

8. Background
Written in 1950, just 5 years after the nuclear bomb was used in Japan
The Cold War followed, and the Russians soon had their own weapons
He is warning us of the possible problems we can face if we are not careful with our knowledge

9. Class Work Read the story in class
Literary Critique, pages 202 – 203, #s 1-3 and 5-8
Writing Workshop, page 203
Complete a close reading of the story