Spirit Magazine - August 2013 - (Page 37)

The Numbers It cost Ray Bradbury $9.80 to write Fahrenheit 451. PHoTogRAPHy By ADAM vooRHeS Apparently the price of success is just under $10—or 10 cents per half hour if you want to get technical. That’s how much the late author Ray Bradbury paid in 1951 to rent a typewriter in the basement of UCLA’s Powell Library, where, over the course of nine days, he shaped his masterwork of 20thcentury literature. “When the timer on the typewriter would end, he’d go upstairs and read Shakespeare, Poe, Dickens, Melville—all the classics,” says Bradbury’s biographer Sam Weller. “He’d read and read, then rush downstairs when inspiration struck.” Bradbury, who would’ve turned 93 this month, composed his acclaimed dystopian novel about book burning in just 49 hours. First published in 1953, it has been translated into 35 languages and sold tens of millions of copies. That’s quite the payout on an investment of less than a ten spot. august 2013 spirit 37

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Spirit Magazine - August 2013

Spirit Magazine - August 2013
Contents
Gary’s Greeting
Gary’s Greeting en Español
Star of the Month
Freedom Story
From the Editor
Your Words
Your Pictures
Media Center
Eat Drink Sleep
The Numbers
Wise Guide
Business
The Greatest Show on Turf
Flipped Out
Your Adventure In Grand Rapids
Life Adventure In Grand Rapids
Calendar
Fun!
Spotlight
Community Outreach
Route Map
Rapid Rewards Partners
Flight Service
The “If” List

Spirit Magazine - August 2013