Le Guin Ursula: biography, creativity, photo

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Today we are talking about a woman who is called "bed, journalist and literary critic." Ursula Le Guin is her name. And the most famous works of this amazing woman are connected with the Earthsea cycle.

About the writer

Le Guin Ursula has long been recognized as a classic of world fiction of the 20th century. This American writer has long been on the same level with such literary giants as A. Asimov, S. Lem, R. Sheckley, R. Bradbury. And the secret of Le Guin's success is a simple plot woven into a complex composition; main characters from among ordinary people; philosophical meaning; accessible, but at the same time rich and beautiful language; proximity to reality. All this makes the worlds invented by the writer incredibly alive.

Now let's talk in more detail about the writer's life. In addition to the biography in our article, you can also find her photo.

Ursula Le Guin: early years and marriage

The future writer was born in 1929. Her birthplace is the small town of Berkeley, located in the state of California. Her father, Alfred Kroeber, was a well-known anthropologist who studied Oriental culture. Mother, Theodora Kroeber, -a writer. Her parents determined her interest in literature and Eastern traditions, which are so different from European ones.

Le Guin Ursula entered Cambridge College. After graduating, she received her PhD from Columbia University in 1952. The theme of her work was: "Romantic literature of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance." After defending, she received a diploma in philology and began to teach literature, working at universities in the United States, England and Australia. At the same time, Ursula taught science fiction courses, because this genre was her old passion.

With her future husband, Charles Le Guin, she met in 1951 and almost immediately married him. Today they have a son and two daughters. Since 1958, the family has been living in the state of Oregon, the city of Portland.

First works

Le Guin Ursula wrote her first short story in 1961. It was called "The Dying Musician" and talked about the obstacles and everyday problems that prevent the genius from fulfilling his dreams. Subsequently, this work was included in a collection of stories about the fictional country of Orsinia, located in Eastern Europe. This country resembles Poland, which found itself in the middle of the 20th century under the rule of the Soviet Union.

The collection, despite the genre of alternative history, was classified as real literature, which can be printed in a school textbook. Already in this book, the talent of Ursula Le Guin was revealed.

In 1979, the novel Malafrena was added to the Orsinian stories, the main theme of which wasthe eternal problem of finding oneself, one's calling and place in life.

First publication

Very interesting creativity of the writer and her biography. Ursula Le Guin first published in 1962, and it wasn't an Orsinia story. It turned out to be the story "April in Paris", published in the literary collection "Fiction-1962". The work told about lonely people who suffer from the same problems, regardless of their social position and status in society. The story received positive reviews from both readers and critics.

Only in 1963 were the fantastic stories of the writer published separately. And they already showed Le Guin's characteristic style, more suitable for telling parables. Despite this, the complex characters of the characters and too bright rich narrative overshadowed the deep meaning of the works. In Russia, the most famous story of this period is considered to be "The Casket, in which there was darkness." This work describes a world where there are no concepts of evil, death and shadow.

Earthsea

Le Guin Ursula gained great popularity and fame precisely because of this cycle. However, it began, oddly enough, with the usual stories published in the next collection "Fiction-1964". These were two works: "Releasing the Spell" and "The Rule of Names." It was they who laid the foundation for the Earthsea cycle. Even then, the writer began to put together, like a puzzle, the future mysterious world full of strange magic. And inIn the first stories, the writer begins to explain the rules of an alien reality: no one should be told their true name, and even the strongest magician cannot take away real freedom.

Only four years later, the first novel of this cycle appeared - "The Wizard of Earthsea". In the same 1968, the work was awarded the Boston Globe-Horm Book publishing house award, and a few years later received the Lewis Carroll Award. Then the following novels of the cycle came out - "Tombs of Atuan" and "On the Last Shore". The first book won the Nuierie Silver Medal and the second won the US National Literature Award for Best Children's Book published in 1972.

In 1979, the writer receives the title of "Grand Master of Fantasy".

Not only the plot of the books about Earthsea was a huge success, but also the image of the main character - the archmage Ged the Hawk. Ursula Le Guin was the first writer to come up with the story of an orphan boy who enters a school for wizards, overcomes many difficulties, fights evil, and finally achieves great strength and wisdom.

After the publication of the first three novels, the writer left the world of Earthsea for almost 20 years. It wasn't until 1990 that a sequel was released called Tehanu: The Last Book of Earthsea. Readers recognized this part as the most unfortunate, but professional critics and literature gave it a high rating. Moreover, for this book, the writer received the most prestigious award of American science fiction writers "Nebula-90".

However, this book was far from the last, it was followed bya collection of short stories and another novel.

The Last Earthsea Novel

The work of Ursula Le Guin is inextricably linked with the world of Earthsea. Perhaps that is why it is so hard for the writer to part with him. To date, the last book in the series is On Different Winds, which was awarded the World Fantasy Prize in 2002.

Thus, to date, 5 novels and several stories related to the Earthsea cycle have been published. Is this the end? Only Ursula Le Guin herself can answer this question.