Near Kin explores, questions, and pays tribute the multifaceted brilliance of Octavia Butler's work through poetry, prose and essays by writers all over the world. Among these works are: There's the question over a writer's reasons for self-censorship and what it means to the future of racial survival in Alexis Pauline Gumb's astounding essay “A Litany for Survivor.” Lenard D. Moore, Wanda Vanhoy Smith, Deborah L. Warner, and Marieta Maglas pay tribute to Butler the writer with their works “Charisma,” “Octavia's Brood and Vision,” “Identity,” and “Terzenalle for Octavia Estelle Butler.” Alex Hernandez, Carol Wysinger, M. Justine Gerard, and Meghan Elison take inspiration from Butler's near/post-apocalyptic life-and-death scenarios in their stories, “A Thing With Soft Bonds,” “In the Beginning,” “Small Talk,” and “Dys-Mytopia.” Helene Cardona, Charie D La Marr, and Janani Balasubramanian touch on the themes of kinship and motherhood in “The Measure of Death,” “Sweet Autumn, and “My Mother Has Wombs in Her Feet That Will Not Close.” Linda Ravenswood, Dave Scriven, Joy KMT, Diane Quinones, and Apryl Skies discuss humanity's violent and indelible interactions with the natural world in “The Saint of the Unknown Universe,” “There is Nothing Inconsistent,” “Autonomous,” “Wisdom's Path,” and “Immortal Kyn.” Cacy Fogenie, Soraya Jean-Louise McElroy, Fabiola Jean-Louise, Lance Tooks, Roju, and Marissa Lafferty have contributed amazing paintings and illustrations inspired by Butler's work: “Justus”, “In A Dream”, “Birth of a Seed”, “Kindred”, “Eternal”, and “Space Lady”.