Poetry, on the other hand, was a family pastime–almost an obligation in the Verne household. Brothers and sisters, parents and children, uncles aunts, and cousins exchanged verse as if they were handshakes or hugs. Jules could have taken rhyming as one more family duty; instead, he rose to the occasion. Later, he would tell a journalist that he began to write at the age of twelve–began to write poetry, that is–“and dreadful poetry,” in his words.

I’m surprised Silicon Valley types and other tech optimists don’t mention Jules Verne more often. I mean he was the first science fiction writer. He was maybe the first techno-optimist.

The Tablet Palmer Luckey profile mentioned Luckey was “Jules-Verne” obsessed. But he’s the only one. Is something missing here?

Jules Verne is underrated.