Inspired by the possibilities created by Edgar Rice Burroughs, Jules Verne, and H.G. Wells, legendary fantasy writer Raymond Douglas Bradbury (1920-) transformed a love of magic and vivid dreams to his writing at a young age.

"Sometimes I think I understand everything. Then I regain consciousness," he observed.

Born on this day in Waukegan, Illinois, Bradbury once described his remarkable creations as "speculative fiction." "I don’t write science fiction," he clarified. ‘I write about what’s possible."

With a cache of hundreds of books, short stories, screenplays, essays, and poems, the prolific Bradbury's masterpieces include The Martian Chronicles (1950), The Illustrated Man (1951), and Fahrenheit 451 (1953), the classic tale of a totalitarian society where books are illegal. A genius of social criticism, Bradbury used his books to warn of censorship and technological destruction.

"Living at risk is jumping off the cliff and building your wings on the way down," he said. His literary vision was a colorful celebration of past and future, darkness and light, delight and horror.

"You can't try to do things; you simply must do them," said Bradbury, a masterful storyteller who changed the world with his words.

Let your beautiful stuff out.