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Ray Bradbury to Become a French Commander, Tonight
What does a man have to do to get some love from France? Write 600 short stories, several screenplays and some outstanding novels including one of the most famous and oft-quoted of all, Fahrenheit 451. It wouldn't hurt if you also nabbed a Pulitzer and a whole slew of other big prizes.
What will that get you? A high-fallutin title like Commander of the Order of Arts and Letters. Let's just call it the french commander arts award, eh?
What the heck does that mean? Bradbury's significant contribution to the arts world has been deemed worthy by France and they want to say "thanks!" The award was established in 1957 and "distinctions are given out by the French Minister of Culture to reward those who have contributed significantly to furthering the arts in France and throughout the world." In short: it is France's highest award of the sort.
The fancy schmancy Frenchie title will be bestowed upon Bradbury this evening at 6pm, at none other than the Résidence de France in Beverly Hills. Of course!
While LAist doesn't have the clout to knight or commander-ize all the LA writers we dig, we would if we could and you, Mr. Bradbury, would be at the top of the list! Congratulations Commander!
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