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Featuring a new introduction by Ken Liu, this revised edition of Ursula K. Le Guin’s first full-length collection of essays covers her background as a writer and educator, on fantasy and science fiction, on writing, and on the future of literary science fiction.
“We like to think we live in daylight, but half the world is always dark; and fantasy, like poetry, speaks the language of the night.” —Ursula K. Le Guin
Le Guin’s sharp and witty voice is on full display in this collection of twenty-four essays, revised by the author a decade after its initial publication in 1979. The collection covers a wide range of topics and Le Guin’s origins as a writer, her advocacy for science fiction and fantasy as mediums for true literary exploration, the writing of her own major works such as A Wizard of Earthsea and The Left Hand of Darkness, and her role as a public intellectual and educator. The book and each thematic section are brilliantly introduced and contextualized by Susan Wood, a professor at the University of British Columbia and a literary editor and feminist activist during the 1960s and ’70s.
A fascinating, intimate look into the exceptional mind of Le Guin whose insights remain as relevant and resonant today as when they were first published.
“We like to think we live in daylight, but half the world is always dark; and fantasy, like poetry, speaks the language of the night.” —Ursula K. Le Guin
Le Guin’s sharp and witty voice is on full display in this collection of twenty-four essays, revised by the author a decade after its initial publication in 1979. The collection covers a wide range of topics and Le Guin’s origins as a writer, her advocacy for science fiction and fantasy as mediums for true literary exploration, the writing of her own major works such as A Wizard of Earthsea and The Left Hand of Darkness, and her role as a public intellectual and educator. The book and each thematic section are brilliantly introduced and contextualized by Susan Wood, a professor at the University of British Columbia and a literary editor and feminist activist during the 1960s and ’70s.
A fascinating, intimate look into the exceptional mind of Le Guin whose insights remain as relevant and resonant today as when they were first published.
42 Reviews
4.0
Jacob Levy
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Elizabeth 📚
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“This book is a treasure trove of Le Guin’s brilliance. I know I will be coming back to many of these essays again and again.”
Ellie!
Created about 2 months agoShare
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“Delightful, refreshing, composed of words most warm and ever-welcoming. As a lover of all things Le Guin, even I expected this collection to be a rather dense, academic read (she is, after all, a brilliant mind, and essays on writing by such an author...I was excited for the challenge). I feel very humbled, by her humility. My surprise feels a bit like this: I've arrived at a professor's house for dinner in formal dress, ready for a three course catered meal, only to be embraced, invited in, sat down to homecooked fare and lively, laughing conversation for hours on end. What a joy, to learn from this book and to find myself grinning, giggling, underlining, annotating.
Le Guin's wisdom is transferred to her reader in the clearest of language, the cleverest of wit, and a most consistently compassionate manner. She is neither aloof nor preachy, and she is never not giving you a sideways wink even when she's approaching difficult or complex topics with thorough care. If you are a writer, reader, enjoyer of the wonder that is science fiction (or if you just want to read some damn good essays on story, gender, and solidarity), this book is required reading.”Emily
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About Ursula K. Le Guin
Ursula K. Le Guin (1929–2018) was the celebrated author of twenty-three novels, twelve volumes of short stories, eleven volumes of poetry, thirteen children’s books, five essay collections, and four works of translation. Her acclaimed books received the Hugo, Nebula, Endeavor, Locus, Otherwise, Theodore Sturgeon, PEN/Malamud, and National Book Awards; a Newbery Honor; and the Pushcart and Janet Heidinger Kafka Prizes, among others. In 2014, she was awarded the National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters, and in 2016 joined the short list of authors to be published in their lifetimes by the Library of America. Le Guin was also the recipient of the Association for Library Service to Children’s May Hill Arbuthnot Honor Lecture Award and the Margaret A. Edwards Award. She received lifetime achievement awards from the World Fantasy Convention, Los Angeles Times, Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association, and Willamette Writers, as well as the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America Grand Master Award and the Library of Congress Living Legend Award. Her website is UrsulaKLeGuin.com.
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