| Ursula K. Le Guin |
Article Index for Ursula |
Website Links For Ursula |
Information AboutUrsula K. Le Guin |
|
Ursula Kroeber Le Guin (born October 21 , 1929 ), is an American author. Although she has written Novel s, Poetry , Children's books, and Essay s, she is best known for her Science Fiction and Fantasy novels and Short Stories . Le Guin has lived in Portland , Oregon , since 1958 . The daughter of the Anthropologist Alfred L. Kroeber and the Writer Theodora Kroeber , she is noted for her exemplary style and for her exploration of Taoist , Anarchist , Feminist , Psychological and Sociological themes. First published in the 1960s , she is now regarded as one of the best modern science fiction and fantasy authors. She has received several Hugo and Nebula awards, and was awarded the Gandalf Grand Master award in 1979 and the Science Fiction And Fantasy Writers Of America Grand Master Award in 2003. BIOGRAPHY Le Guin was born and raised in Berkeley, California . She became interested in literature when she was very young. At the age of eleven she submitted her first story to the Magazine '' Astounding Science Fiction '' (it was rejected). She received her B.A. (''Phi Beta Kappa'') from Radcliffe College in 1951, and M.A. from Columbia University in 1952. She later studied in France , where she met her husband, Charles Le Guin. Her earliest writings (little was published at the time, but some was published in adapted form much later in '' Orsinian Tales '' and '' Malafrena ''), were non-fantastic stories of Imaginary Countries . Searching for a publishable way to express her interests, she returned to her early interest in science fiction and began to be published regularly in the early 1960s . She became famous after the publication of her 1969 novel '' The Left Hand Of Darkness '', which won the Hugo and Nebula awards. Much of Le Guin's science fiction is distinctive in its strong emphasis on the Social Sciences , including Sociology and Anthropology . Her writing often makes use of unusual Alien cultures to convey a message about our own culture; one example is the exploration of Sexual Identity through the Hermaphroditic race in '' The Left Hand Of Darkness ''. A number of Le Guin's science fiction works, including her award-winning novels '' The Dispossessed '' and ''The Left Hand of Darkness'', are set in a future, post-Imperial galactic civilization governed by a co-operative body known as the Ekumen . A notable feature of her conception that sets her work apart from much of mainstream SF is that neither the old Empire nor the Ekumen possesses Faster-than-light Travel , although the politically progressive Ekumen thrives where the old Empire has failed mainly because it possesses a means of instantaneous interstellar communication, through a device called the Ansible , the invention and consequences of which form the main plot of '' The Dispossessed ''. In this loose background scenario, the human species originated on the planet Hain in the distant past, near the galactic center. A Galactic Empire had expanded far out across the galaxy over many millennia but, because it lacked faster-than-light (FTL) travel or communication, the Empire was finally stretched beyond its limits by the vast distances involved and it collapses catastrophically. Thousands of years pass, during which time the populations of many outlying planets become so isolated from the central galactic civilisation that they lose all knowledge of their origins, reverting to more archaic forms of civilisation and technology. A number of Le Guin's works including '' The Left Hand Of Darkness '' and '' The Word For World Is Forest '' deal with the consequences of the arrival of Ekumen envoys (known as "mobiles") on these remote planets and the Culture Shock that ensues. TECHNIQUE Le Guin is known for her ability to create believable worlds populated by strongly sympathetic characters (regardless of whether they are technically 'human'). Her fantasy works (such as the '' Earthsea '' series) are more concerned with the Human Condition than the works of traditional fantasy authors (such as J.R.R. Tolkien ), and they often explore political and cultural themes from a very "un-Earthly" perspective. Le Guin has also written fiction set much closer to home; many of her short stories are set in our world in the present or the near future. FICTION Earthsea (fantasy) The Earthsea novels
Note: '' Tales From Earthsea '' fits between '' Tehanu '' and '' The Other Wind '', according to this important note on Le Guin's website. The Earthsea short stories
Ekumen (science fiction) Novels of the Ekumen
Short stories from the Ekumen
Miscellaneous novels and story cycles
Short story collections
Books for children and young adults '' The Catwings Collection ''
Other books for children and young adults
NONFICTION Prose
Poetry
Translations and Renditions
See also: Le Guin is a prolific author and has published many works that are not listed here. Many works were originally published in science fiction literary magazines. Those that have not since been anthologized have fallen into obscurity. ADAPTATIONS TO FILM AND TELEVISION Despite her many awards and her considerable popularity, Le Guin is also notable as one of the few major science fiction writers of her generation whose major SF and Fantasy works have not as yet been widely adapted for film or television. For television, '' The Lathe Of Heaven '' has been adapted twice, in 1980 by Thirteen/WNET New York , with her own participation, and in 2002 by the A&E Network ; The Earthsea trilogy was adapted as a TV Miniseries in 2004 by the Sci Fi Channel but was generally very poorly reviewed and received, including by LeGuin herself, who reports that she was "cut out of the process". A cinema adaptation of Earthsea is in production at , under the direction of , son of renowned anime director ; is slated for Japanese release in July 2006 . {Link without Title} PRONUNCIATION OF HER SURNAME In a - c'est un nom Breton - je crois que c'est encore Luh Gwinn. (Like Gwyn in Welsh - I think it's the same word.)" {Link without Title} ADDITIONAL AWARDS Le Guin received the Library Of Congress '' Living Legends '' award in the "Writers and Artists" category in April 2000 for her significant contributions to America's cultural heritage. EXTERNAL LINKS
|
|
|