Ursula K. Le Guin (1929–2018)
Author of A Wizard of Earthsea
About the Author
Ursula K. Le Guin was born Ursula Kroeber in Berkeley, California on October 21, 1929. She received a bachelor's degree from Radcliffe College in 1951 and a master's degree in romance literature of the Middle Ages and Renaissance from Columbia University in 1952. She won a Fulbright fellowship in show more 1953 to study in Paris, where she met and married Charles Le Guin. Her first science-fiction novel, Rocannon's World, was published in 1966. Her other books included the Earthsea series, The Left Hand of Darkness, The Dispossessed: An Ambiguous Utopia, The Lathe of Heaven, Four Ways to Forgiveness, and The Telling. A Wizard of Earthsea received an American Library Association Notable Book citation, a Horn Book Honor List citation, and the Lewis Carroll Shelf Award in 1979. She received the Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters in 2014. She also received the Nebula Award and the Hugo Award. She also wrote books of poetry, short stories collections, collections of essays, children's books, a guide for writers, and volumes of translation including the Tao Te Ching of Lao Tzu and selected poems by Gabriela Mistral. She died on January 22, 2018 at the age of 88. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Image credit: Photo by Marion Wood Kolisch. This is a re-upload of the previous image added by another member, due to the previous copy of it being low-resolution.
Series
Works by Ursula K. Le Guin
Worlds of Exile and Illusion: Three Complete Novels of the Hainish Series in One Volume (1996) 1,539 copies
Steering the Craft: Exercises and Discussions on Story Writing for the Lone Navigator or the Mutinous Crew (1998) 1,483 copies
The Wave in the Mind: Talks and Essays on the Writer, the Reader, and the Imagination (2004) 667 copies
The Norton Book of Science Fiction: North American Science Fiction, 1960-1990 (1993) — Editor — 315 copies
Hainish Novels and Stories, Volume One: Rocannon's World / Planet of Exile / City of Illusions / The Left Hand of… (2017) 263 copies
Hainish Novels and Stories, Volume Two: The Word for World Is Forest / Stories / Five Ways to Forgiveness / The Telling (2017) 212 copies
Five Complete Novels: Rocannon's World / Planet of Exile / City of Illusions / The Left Hand of Darkness / The Word for… (1985) 150 copies
The Selected Short Fiction of Ursula K. Le Guin: The Found and the Lost; The Unreal and the Real (2016) 39 copies
Mundos de Ursula K. Le Guin / The Worlds of Ursula K. Le Guin (Minotauro Autores Varios) (Spanish Edition) (2008) 26 copies
Ursula K. Le Guin Boxed Set: Rocannon's World, Planet of Exile, City of Illusions, The Left Hand of Darkness (1979) 22 copies
Le Dit d'Aka : Suivi de Le nom du monde est forêt et de Malaise dans la science-fiction américaine (1972) 21 copies
Forgiveness Day [short fiction] 20 copies
Ursula K. Le Guin: Five Novels 20 copies
Coming of Age in Karhide [novelette] 18 copies
The Visionary: The Life Story of Flicker of the Serpentine / Wonders Hidden: Audubon's Early Years (1984) 18 copies
The matter of Seggri [short fiction] 15 copies
A Woman's Liberation [novella] 12 copies
Solitude (novelette) 12 copies
Ursula Leguin Collection: Left Hand of Darkness, the Earthsea Quartet & the Dispossessed (2011) 11 copies
The Fliers of Gy 11 copies
The Seasons of the Ansarac 10 copies
Old Music and the Slave Women 10 copies
Unlocking the Air [short story] 9 copies
The Island of the Immortals 9 copies
Dangerous People: The Complete Text of Ursula K Le Guin's Kesh Novella: A Library of America eBook Classic (2019) 8 copies
Social Dreaming of the Frin 7 copies
Mountain ways (novelette) 7 copies
A man of the people (novella) 7 copies
The Poacher [Short Story] 7 copies
Das Wort für Welt ist Wald / Quarantäne im Kosmos / Die denkenden Wälder. Drei Science Fiction Romane in einem Band. (1990) 6 copies
Newton's Sleep 6 copies
The Building [short story] 5 copies
Music And Poetry Of The Kesh 5 copies
May's Lion 5 copies
Betrayals {novelette} 5 copies
Ether, Or [novelette] 5 copies
Illusioonide linn ; Maailma nimi on mets ; Impeeriumitest suurem ja pikaldasem veel : [lühiromaanid ja jutustus] (2002) 4 copies
Wind's Twelve Quarters volume 2 4 copies
Imaginary Countries [short story] 4 copies
Dancing To Ganam [short story] 4 copies
Horse Camp [short story] 4 copies
The Complete Earthsea Series & The Left Hand of Darkness: 3 BBC Radio Full Cast Dramatisations (2021) 4 copies
Am Anfang war der Beutel: Warum uns Fortschritts-Utopien an den Rand des Abgrunds führten und wie Denken in… (2020) 4 copies
The uses of music in uttermost parts [sound recording] — Author — 3 copies
Confusions of Uñi [short story] 3 copies
The Kerastion 3 copies
Half Past Four [novelette] 3 copies
The Trouble with the Cotton People 3 copies
Woeful Tales from Mahigul 3 copies
No Boats 3 copies
Supermouse I: Pussa the Great 3 copies
Os Despojados, Vol. 1 3 copies
Texts [short story] 3 copies
Lorenzo Bean, Dozing 2 copies
The Lost Children [short story] 2 copies
Hand, Cup, Shell [short story] 2 copies
Unchosen Love {short story} 2 copies
You Rarely See Such Things Any More: Poems from the Side Porch — Author — 2 copies
The Princess and the Goblin 2 copies
Sleepwalkers [short story] 2 copies
Ursula K. Le Guin 2 copies
Is Gender Necessary? [essay] 2 copies
Torrey Pines Reserve 2 copies
Porridge on Islac 2 copies
Floresta é o nome do mundo 2 copies
Sita Dulip's Method 2 copies
Tillai and Tylissos 2 copies
Feeling at Home with the Hennebet 2 copies
Great Joy 2 copies
The Nna Mmoy Language 2 copies
The Ire of the Veksi 2 copies
Catwings return 1 copy
A Citizen of Mondath [essay] 1 copy
The Dowry of Angyar 1 copy
A teoria da bolsa da ficção 1 copy
Infinitive 1 copy
We Keep Writing Dystopias Instead of Envisioning a Better World--Maybe What We Need is Balance 1 copy
The Future of the Left 1 copy
July 1 copy
Ursula K. LeGuin 1 copy
Four different poems 1 copy
Travelling 1 copy
Wake Island 1 copy
At Kishamish 1 copy
Across the Spectrum 1 copy
Historias De Terramar II 1 copy
Historias De Terramar I 1 copy
The Lathe of Heaven 1 copy
Le Dit d'Aka 1 copy
Buffalo Gals 1 copy
The Wizard of Earthsea 1 copy
Legend of Earthsea 1 copy
Os Despojados, Vol. 2 1 copy
The Winds Twelve Quarters 1 copy
L'ultime rivage: Terremer 3 1 copy
Findings 1 copy
Ursula K. Le Guin 1 copy
La costa més llunyana 1 copy
Selected Stories 1 copy
בידיים ריקות : אוטופיה עמומה 1 copy
Velká kniha Zeměmoří 1 copy
I Reietti dell'altro pianeta 1 copy
Pimeduse pahem käsi 1 copy
Velká kniha Zeměmoří 1 copy
Le Guin's map of Earthsea — Cartographer — 1 copy
Supermouse XII: Batpoisson! 1 copy
The Lathe Of Heaven: A Novel 1 copy
Pity and Shame 1 copy
In the Drought [short story] 1 copy
Supermouse XI: Origins II 1 copy
Planeta d'exili 1 copy
The Staring Eye [essay] 1 copy
The Modest One [essay] 1 copy
Escape Routes [essay] 1 copy
Mâna Stângă A Intunericului 1 copy
Tão longe de sitio nenhum 1 copy
The Greener Shore 1 copy
On Theme 1 copy
No Use to Talk to Me 1 copy
To Siva the Unmaker 1 copy
A outro lado do mundo 1 copy
Os túmulos de Atuan 1 copy
The Dispossessed [Volume II] 1 copy
Notes On Werel And Yeowe 1 copy
The Jar of Water [novelette] 1 copy
Le Guin, Ursula Archive 1 copy
Lumii Îi Spuneu Pădure 1 copy
Four Cat Poems [poems] 1 copy
Vacunacion de los animales domesticos. Indicaciones, propiedades y aplicaciones de las vacunas (1997) 1 copy
The Professor's Houses [short story] — Author — 1 copy
Limberlost [short story] 1 copy
The Spoons in the Basement [short story] — Author — 1 copy
Sunday in Summer in Seatown [short story] — Author — 1 copy
Planeta do Exílio Livro 1 1 copy
Alagatos 1 copy
Expulsos da Terra Livro 1 1 copy
Shevek [en roman] 1 copy
Intracom 1 copy
Real Power 1 copy
Supermouse II: E.A.G. 1 copy
Supermouse VI: Pussa Returns 1 copy
A Cidade das Ilusões Livro 1 1 copy
Five Vegetable Poems [poems] 1 copy
Kore 87 {short story} 1 copy
Three Rock Poems [poems] 1 copy
The Catwings Complete Paperback Collection (Boxed Set): Catwings; Catwings Return; Wonderful Alexander and the… (2023) 1 copy
The Catwings Complete Collection (Boxed Set): Catwings; Catwings Return; Wonderful Alexander and the Catwings; Jane on… (2023) 1 copy
Distance {poem} 1 copy
Mendenhall Glacier {poem} 1 copy
Limberlost {article} 1 copy
Roza vanturilor 1 copy
Ruby on the 67 [short story] 1 copy
Climbing to the Moon (short) 1 copy
Elementals 1 copy
Os Túmulos de Atuan Livro 1 1 copy
O Mundo de Rocannon Livro 1 1 copy
Associated Works
Legends: Short Novels by the Masters of Modern Fantasy, Vol. 3 (of 3) (1998) — Contributor — 561 copies
The Best of the Best: 20 Years of the Year's Best Science Fiction (2005) — Contributor; Contributor — 371 copies
Sisters of the Revolution: A Feminist Speculative Fiction Anthology (2015) — Contributor — 301 copies
Mirror, Mirror on the Wall: Women Writers Explore Their Favorite Fairy Tales (1998) — Contributor — 298 copies
The Locus Awards: Thirty Years of the Best in Science Fiction and Fantasy (2004) — Contributor — 271 copies
The Road to Science Fiction #3: From Heinlein to Here (1979) — Contributor; Contributor — 243 copies
The Future Is Female! 25 Classic Science Fiction Stories by Women, from Pulp Pioneers to Ursula K. Le Guin: A Library… (2018) — Contributor — 232 copies
More Women Of Wonder: Science Fiction Novelettes By Women About Women (1976) — Contributor — 228 copies
The Best of the Best, Volume 2: 20 Years of the Best Short Science Fiction Novels (2007) — Contributor — 203 copies
First Fiction: An Anthology of the First Published Stories by Famous Writers (1994) — Contributor — 183 copies
Women of Wonder, the Classic Years: Science Fiction by Women from the 1940s to the 1970s (1995) — Contributor — 179 copies
The James Tiptree Award Anthology 1: Sex, the Future, and Chocolate Chip Cookies (2004) — Contributor — 175 copies
Legends: Short Novels by the Masters of Modern Fantasy, Vol. B (of 2) (1999) — Contributor — 138 copies
The Very Best of Fantasy & Science Fiction: Sixtieth Anniversary Anthology (2009) — Contributor — 131 copies
The Science Fiction Hall of Fame, Volume Four: Nebula Winners 1970-1974 (1986) — Contributor — 124 copies
The Best From Fantasy and Science Fiction: The Fiftieth Anniversary Anthology (1999) — Contributor — 118 copies
The Sophisticated Cat: A Gathering of Stories, Poems, and Miscellaneous Writings About Cats (1992) — Contributor — 100 copies
The James Tiptree Award Anthology 2: Stories for Men, Women, and the Rest of Us (2005) — Contributor — 99 copies
The Choices We Made: Twenty-Five Women and Men Speak Out About Abortion (1991) — Contributor — 97 copies
The James Tiptree Award Anthology 3: Subversive Stories about Sex and Gender (2007) — Contributor — 95 copies
Nebula Awards 31: SFWA's Choices For The Best Science Fiction And Fantasy Of The Year (Nebula Awards Showcase) (No… (1997) — Contributor — 92 copies
Nebula Awards 30: SFWA's Choices For The Best Science Fiction And Fantasy Of The Year (Nebula Awards Showcase) (1980) — Contributor — 86 copies
Fantasists on Fantasy: A collection of Critical Reflections by Eighteen Masters of the Art (1984) — Contributor — 86 copies
The Future Is Female! Volume Two, The 1970s: More Classic Science Fiction Storie s By Women: A Library of America… (2022) — Contributor — 78 copies
New Eves: Science Fiction About the Extraordinary Women of Today and Tomorrow (1994) — Contributor — 62 copies
ParaSpheres: Extending Beyond the Spheres of Literary and Genre Fiction: Fabulist and New Wave Fabulist Stories (2006) — Contributor — 60 copies
Flying Cups and Saucers: Gender Explorations in Science Fiction and Fantasy (1998) — Author — 54 copies
Speeches of Note: An Eclectic Collection of Orations Deserving of a Wider Audience (2018) — Narrator, some editions — 51 copies
Nebula Awards 26: SFWA's Choices for the Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year (1992) — Contributor — 50 copies
Women Who Run With the Werewolves: Tales of Blood, Lust and Metamorphosis (1996) — Contributor — 49 copies
Jo's Girls: Tomboy Tales of High Adventure, True Grit, and Real Life (1997) — Contributor — 47 copies
Women of Other Worlds: Excursions Through Science Fiction and Feminism (1999) — Contributor — 42 copies
Light Years and Dark: Science Fiction and Fantasy of and for Our Time (1984) — Contributor — 36 copies
Women of Vision : Essays by Women Writing Science Fiction (1988) — Contributor, some editions — 33 copies
She's Fantastical: The First Anthology of Australian Women's Speculative Fiction, Magical Realism and Fantasy (1995) — Foreword — 33 copies
In Lands That Never Were: Tales of Swords and Sorcery from The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction (2004) — Contributor — 33 copies
Grave Predictions: Tales of Mankind’s Post-Apocalyptic, Dystopian and Disastrous Destiny (2016) 26 copies
Maailma mielen mukaan : yksitoista tieteisnovellia kolmeltatoista sci-fi -sarjan kirjailijalta (1986) — Contributor — 22 copies
A Home-Concealed Woman: The Diaries of Magnolia Wynn Le Guin, 1901-1913 (1990) — Foreword — 21 copies
The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction June 2000, Vol. 98, No. 6 (2000) — Contributor — 12 copies
Hive of Dreams: Contemporary Science Fiction from the Pacific Northwest (Northwest Readers) (2003) — Contributor — 12 copies
Womens Fantastic Adventures. Stories. ( Fremdsprachentexte). (Lernmaterialien) (1992) — Author — 11 copies
Das Science Fiction Jahr 1994. Ein Jahrbuch für den Science Fiction Leser (1994) — Contributor — 10 copies
The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction November 1987, Vol. 73, No. 5 (1987) — Contributor — 9 copies
The Profession of Science Fiction: SF Writers on Their Craft and Ideas (Insights) (1992) — Contributor — 6 copies
Second Set Out — Foreword — 5 copies
Lady Churchill's Rosebud Wristlet No. 16 — Contributor — 4 copies
Fantastic Imaginings: A Journey Through 3500 Years of Imaginative Writing, Comprising Fantasy, Horror, and Science… (2012) — Contributor — 4 copies
Nuove avventure nell'ignoto — Contributor — 2 copies
Mythlore LVI (Vol.15, No.2, Winter 1988) — Contributor — 2 copies
Antaeus No. 29, Spring 1978 — Contributor — 2 copies
The Most Thrilling Science Fiction Ever Told, No. 13, Summer 1969 — Contributor — 2 copies
The Little Magazine, v. 10, #1-2, Spring Summer 1976 — Contributor — 1 copy
The World Fantasy Convention 2011: Sailing the Seas of the Imagination — Contributor — 1 copy
SFの評論大全集 (別冊奇想天外 4) — Contributor — 1 copy
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Legal name
- Le Guin, Ursula Kroeber
- Birthdate
- 1929-10-21
- Date of death
- 2018-01-22
- Burial location
- Donated to Medical Science
- Gender
- female
- Nationality
- USA
- Birthplace
- Berkeley, California, USA
- Place of death
- Portland, Oregon, USA
- Cause of death
- possible heart attack
- Places of residence
- Portland, Oregon, USA
- Education
- Radcliffe College (AB|1951)
Columbia University (MA|1952) - Occupations
- writer
editor
poet
translator - Relationships
- Kroeber, Alfred L. (father)
Kroeber, Theodora (mother)
Le Guin, Charles (husband)
Kroeber, Karl (brother)
Kroeber, Clifton B. (brother)
Muller, H. J. (cousin) (show all 8)
LeGuin, Elisabeth (daughter)
Le Guin, Caroline (daughter) - Organizations
- Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America
Book View Cafe - Awards and honors
- Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master Award (2003)
Gandalf Award ( [1979])
World Fantasy Award (Lifetime Achievement, 1995)
SFRA Pilgrim Award (1989)
PEN/Malamud Award (2002)
Charles Erskine Scott Wood Distinguished Writer Award (2006) (show all 14)
Robert Kirsch Award (1999)
SF Hall Of Fame ( [2001])
Margaret A. Edwards Award (2004)
Mythopoeic Fantasy Award
May Hill Arbuthnot Lecturer (2004)
Maxine Cushing Gray Fellowship (2006)
Fulbright Fellowship
American Academy of Arts and Letters (2017) - Agent
- Virginia Kidd
Members
Discussions
Group Discussion - The Dispossessed - Ursula K. Le Guin in The Green Dragon (September 2023)
Earthsea in Folio Society Devotees (May 2023)
The Adventure of Cobbler’s Rune by Ursula K. le Guin - CHEAP STREET PRESS LIMITED EDITION 1982 in Fine Press Forum (November 2022)
Group Read, October 2022: The Dispossessed in 1001 Books to read before you die (September 2022)
A Wizard of Earthsea is back in stock in Folio Society Devotees (July 2022)
Problems adding a book in Common Knowledge, WikiThing, HelpThing (November 2021)
Ursula K. LeGuin in Library of America Subscribers (September 2021)
Ursula Le Guin's Hainish Cycle in The Green Dragon (June 2021)
June Group Read: Ursula K. Le Guin in 2018 Category Challenge (September 2018)
Ursula K. Le Guin: American Author Challenge in 75 Books Challenge for 2015 (July 2015)
February Read - SPOILERS - The Lathe of Heaven in The Green Dragon (July 2013)
February Read - NO SPOILERS - The Lathe of Heaven in The Green Dragon (February 2013)
Short story anthology / female coyote and various tricksters. in Name that Book (May 2012)
SciFi - Night people and day people in Name that Book (February 2012)
***Group Read: Always Coming Home by Ursula Le Guin (spoiler thread) in 75 Books Challenge for 2011 (August 2011)
The Dispossessed - by Ursula K. LeGuin in Feminist SF (July 2010)
A Wizard of Earthsea trilogy vs. quartet? in FantasyFans (February 2010)
Reviews
Lists
Best Dystopias (4)
Science Fiction (2)
Favourite Books (14)
A Novel Cure (2)
mom (1)
First Novels (1)
Summer Reading (1)
Walls (1)
Ocean Setting (1)
Epic Fantasy (1)
Favorite Series (1)
Europe (1)
AP Lit (1)
Parallel Novels (1)
Folio Society (1)
Books for Tori (1)
Wishlist (1)
Sonlight Books (1)
Summer Reading (1)
KLW Read 2024 (1)
My TBR list (1)
Winter Books (1)
Review 3 (1)
PM Press (1)
Ambleside Books (1)
Gimmicks (1)
Carole's List (1)
Aeneas (1)
Nineties (1)
Dead narrators (1)
War Literature (1)
Magic schools (1)
Sense of place (1)
SF Masterworks (1)
SFFKit 2016 (1)
Cats in Fiction (1)
Read in 2016 (1)
Writing (1)
al.vick-series (4)
Overdue Podcast (4)
Short and Sweet (3)
Best Young Adult (3)
Newbery Adjacent (3)
1970s (9)
Five star books (7)
SF Masterworks (7)
Books Read in 2016 (10)
Unread books (10)
Female Author (15)
Books Read in 2018 (17)
1960s (7)
Nebula Award (5)
Read These Too (5)
SF - To Read (2)
SFFCat 2015 (1)
Into the Woods (1)
To Read (1)
Utopia (2)
Women in War (1)
1990s (2)
Generation Ship (1)
Teen Pregnancy (1)
Read This Next (1)
2000s decade (2)
1980s (2)
um actually (2)
Best First Lines (2)
Awards
Dreams Must Explain Themselves: The Selected Non-Fiction of Ursula K. Le Guin (Finalist – Non-Fiction – 2019)
Ursula K. Le Guin: The Hainish Novels and Stories [Library of America Boxed Set] (Winner – Collection – 2018)
The Unreal and the Real: Selected Stories Volume Two: Outer Space, Inner Lands (Finalist – Collection – 2013)
You May Also Like
Associated Authors
Statistics
- Works
- 504
- Also by
- 366
- Members
- 143,073
- Popularity
- #45
- Rating
- 3.9
- Reviews
- 3,097
- ISBNs
- 2,042
- Languages
- 33
- Favorited
- 875
The writing style- some might find it dry. I liked it. It just takes a little getting into. Once you've been reading for a while, it feels natural to read straightforward narration and poetic descriptions.
Le Guin may not be trying to write a poem in any sense, but her words carry a rhythm of their own. This is a woman who reads A LOT. I love that.
The characters can seem bland on the surface. But all their discussions about the gods and duty didn't seem at all contrived.
The story isn't told in order at first, which gets confusing if you're reading in short spurts. I understand why the author made the choices she did, though.
Overall this book is appropriate for any age (but reading level is certainl middle school or above [maybe I'm overrating reading levels- I who studied Greek and Roman history and mythology could've gotten through this in middle school, I who read Paradise Lost as a high school freshman]). There are however a couple spots that will make people uncomfortable. There's two or three non-graphic sex scenes. Also a couple instances of obscenity that seem really random.
I'm guessing a lot of people are unsatisfied with the ending. It's not really there. But I think it's beautiful. Vergirl gave Lavinia a name. Le Guin gave her a story and a life.
Lavinia lives on.… (more)