Author Ursula Le Guin Dies

[Scepticalscribe]

Just read of the death of the wonderful writer Ursula Le Guin, aged 88.

Le Guin pioneered fantasy and scoff writing away from an emphasis on the 'hard sciences' and away from a world viewed solely through a white, world view, introducing other, more nuanced perspectives informed as much by anthropology, sociology, philosophy, politics, and legends every bit as much as science.

Her superb "Earthsea" series transformed the way the genre came to be viewed, and served as an inspiration for many other writers.

A sharp, intelligent, witty, thoughtful, gifted writer - she wrote until recently - she will be missed.

 

[admwright]

Sad to hear this news. She is one of my favourite authors. As you say Earthsea is a superb series of books.

 

[Peterkro]

Big influence and fellow anarchist.She'll be sorely missed.

 

[iShater]

Great loss to the genre, and to literature in general. One of my favorite books, A Wizard of Earthsea.

RIP

 

[OcelotWreak]

I think future critics and academics will view her as one of the great authors of the 20th century. Her impact on a number of genres has been immense and will probably continue to influence writing styles and perspectives long into the future. The beautiful accolades written this week from a number of her peers has been amazing to read. America has lost one of its greatest writers!

 

[wordsworth]

I'm surprised that that there hasn't been more activity on this thread, hence my desire to revive it and add my own tribute. Ursula K Le Guin was, in my opinion, one of the all-time great storytellers. She made it seem simple yet her writing was what I consider true art. I found her work moving, thrilling, inspiring, exciting, poetic and, consistently, profound. Her understanding of and insights into the human condition were everywhere in her writing. For me, her Earthsea stories rank alongside Lord Of The Rings as literature that transcends any notions of genre – epic sagas that follow in a tradition all the way back to Beowulf and beyond, answering our need for such tales.

 

[ActionableMango]

I really liked Lathe of Heaven. It is one of those stories that stands out because it is so striking.

The public television adaptation from the 80's is pretty good too. They managed to find a way to convey the epic, world-changing, mind-bending events on a public television budget. LeGuin was deeply involved in the adaption, so it is a faithful representation of the book. She wasn't just an adviser, she did script writing, planning, filming, and even chose the cast.

As a result of this thread I found out that there is a 2002 adaptation as well, but I have not seen it and I hear it is not as good.

Might be time for a re-read and a re-watch.

 

[OcelotWreak]

An interesting thing from The Lathe of Heaven is that the title comes from an incorrect translation of the Tao Te Ching into English.

The Chinese apparently did not have "lathes" back in the age when the Tao was recorded. Le Guin did her own translation of the Tao but didn't catch this previously-mistranslated concept. She was later made aware of the error but it was a bit late to change the title of the book.

In retrospect, the concept of being ground down on the lathe of heaven is much more powerful symbolism and metaphor than what the proper translation would actually have provided.