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Ursula K. Le Guin

アーシュラ・ケー・ル＝グウィン

Ursula K. Le Guin

Aliases: Ursula Kroeber Le Guin / Ursula Kroeber
Pen Names: U. K. Le Guin（Published once under initials in a magazine (Playboy) early in career）

Profile

Gender
Female
Born
1929-10-21 （Berkeley, California, U.S.）
Died
2018-01-22 （Portland, Oregon, U.S.） age 88
Nationality
United States
Languages
English
Religion
Irreligious (raised) / influenced by Taoism and Buddhism
Residence History
Berkeley, California (birthplace) → Napa Valley (summer residence) → Paris, France (Fulbright study) → Portland, Oregon (long-term residence)

Career

Occupations
Author, Poet, Translator, Literary critic, University lecturer
Active Years
1959-2018
Influenced By
Theodore Sturgeon, Cordwainer Smith, Carl Jung, Cultural anthropology (influence via her father Alfred Kroeber), Taoism (philosophical influence)
Influenced
Neil Gaiman, Salman Rushdie, David Mitchell, Iain Banks, Michael Chabon

Education

Radcliffe College (Harvard University)
Renaissance French and Italian literature
Degree: BA
Period: 1947–1951
Year of Graduation: 1951
Country: United States
Member of Phi Beta Kappa
Columbia University
French (graduate studies)
Degree: MA
Period: 1951–1952
Year of Graduation: 1952
Country: United States
Won a Fulbright grant and studied in France 1953–1954

Awards

Hugo Award (Best Novel)
1970
Work: The Left Hand of Darkness
Organization: World Science Fiction Society (WSFS)
Result: Winner
Nebula Award (Best Novel)
1970
Work: The Left Hand of Darkness
Organization: Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA)
Result: Winner
Hugo Award (Best Novel)
1975
Work: The Dispossessed
Organization: World Science Fiction Society (WSFS)
Result: Winner
Nebula Award (Best Novel)
1975
Work: The Dispossessed
Organization: Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA)
Result: Winner
National Book Award (Young People's Literature)
1973
Work: The Farthest Shore
Organization: National Book Foundation
Result: Winner
SFWA Grand Master (Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master)
2003
Category: Lifetime achievement
Organization: Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA)
Result: Winner
Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters
2014
Organization: National Book Foundation
Result: Winner
Library of Congress Living Legend
2000
Organization: Library of Congress
Result: Honoree
World Fantasy Award (Best Novel)
2002
Work: The Other Wind
Organization: World Fantasy Convention
Result: Winner

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

A Wizard of Earthsea

1968 Fantasy (young adult) 184 pages

The coming-of-age tale of Ged, a young wizard who must confront a dangerous shadow he unleashed and learn the balance of magic and responsibility.

Coming of ageEquilibriumThe power of namesAcceptance of self
Adaptations
  • [Animation (film adaptation influences)] Tales from Earthsea (film elements adapted) / Gorō Miyazaki (2006)
Translations
  • A Wizard of Earthsea

The Left Hand of Darkness

1969 Science fiction (social/soft SF) 304 pages

Genly Ai, an envoy from Earth, visits the ambisexual inhabitants of Gethen and must navigate deep cultural differences, exploring gender, politics and human connection.

Gender and sexualityCross-cultural communicationPolitical and ethical choices
Adaptations
  • [Stage] The Left Hand of Darkness (stage adaptation) / Jonathan Walters (adaptation director) (1995)
Translations
  • The Left Hand of Darkness

The Dispossessed

1974 Science fiction (political/utopian exploration) 341 pages

Set on twin planets Urras and Anarres, the novel examines contrasting social systems and follows Shevek as he seeks freedom for scientific exchange and political reconciliation.

Comparative political systemsFreedom and responsibilityScience and society
Translations
  • The Dispossessed

The Lathe of Heaven

1971 Science fiction 184 pages

A man whose dreams alter reality becomes the center of conflicting attempts to use or control that power, raising moral and political dilemmas.

Boundary between dream and realityEthical interventionIndividual and society
Adaptations
  • [TV film] The Lathe of Heaven (TV film) / David Loxton（1979版関与） / 2002版ディレクター別 (1979)
Translations
  • The Lathe of Heaven

Bibliography

  • Rocannon's World
  • A Wizard of Earthsea
  • The Left Hand of Darkness
  • The Dispossessed
  • The Lathe of Heaven
  • Always Coming Home

Adaptations

  • Earthsea elements adapted into the film Tales from Earthsea (2006)
  • The Left Hand of Darkness stage adaptation (1995)
  • The Lathe of Heaven TV films (1979, 2002)
  • Legend of Earthsea miniseries (Sci Fi Channel, 2004)

Translations by Author

  • Translation of the Tao Te Ching (1997)

Translations of Works

  • The Left Hand of Darkness — translated into many languages (including Japanese)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Lean, lyrical proseInterweaves social and philosophical themesCrosses genre boundaries (SF, fantasy, realism)
Recurring Motifs
Balance and equilibriumComing-of-age / rites of passageAnthropological observationNames and identity

Health

  • Poor health in later months; suspected heart attack
    晩年（死去直前）
    Reported poor health for several months and a suspected heart attack likely contributed to her death in 2018

Legacy

Le Guin introduced social and philosophical depth to genre fiction, elevating science fiction and fantasy to literary status. She influenced many writers and critics and received numerous major awards.

Academic Societies

  • Communities around the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA)
  • Subject of academic study and symposia

Archives

  • University of Oregon Libraries (Ursula K. Le Guin papers)
  • Library of Congress holdings / honored as a Living Legend

In Popular Culture

  • U.S. Postal Service issued a commemorative stamp in 2021
  • A crater on Mercury was named Le Guin in 2024

Quotes

  • I think hard times are coming when we will be wanting the voices of writers who can see alternatives to how we live now and can see through our fear-stricken society and its obsessive technologies. We will need writers who can remember freedom.
    Source: Speech / essay (National Book Awards speech excerpt and other writings) (2014)

Trivia

  • Refused a Nebula Award in 1977 in protest of SFWA's revocation of Stanisław Lem's membership.
  • Once published under the byline 'U. K. Le Guin' in Playboy.
  • Coined the term 'ansible' for instantaneous interstellar communication, adopted by other authors.
  • Received the National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters in 2014.
  • Posthumously received a Hugo Award for a complete edition of Earthsea; numerous awards followed during and after her lifetime.