VIDEO: Watch Ursula K. Le Guin Talk About Book Writing and Capitalism
Since her death, the tributes to science fiction legend Urula K Le Guin have been pouring in. Many have been laudatory, like Yale professor of humanities Harold Bloom saying "Le Guin, more than Tolkien, has raised fantasy into high literature, for our time.” Others have recalled her amazing work, including perhaps her most important book, The Left Hand of Darkness, a controversial exploration of gender, which was ranked the second best novel of all time by the science-fiction and fantasy magazine Locus. A few have been humorous:
Le Guin was also, it must be said, a powerful voice for books and authors. Here is her brief (6-minute), fiery acceptance speech for the 2014 National Book Award for lifetime achievement, in which Le Guin issued a clarion call for publishers to consider art as well as profitability, saying “at the end of [my career] I don’t want to watch American Literature get sold down the river!”