January 23, 2018
Ursula K. Le Guin, famed science fiction and fantasy writer, dies at 88
Fantasy novelist Ursula K. Le Guin died Monday afternoon in her Portland, Oregon, home, her son Theo Downes-Le Guin said. She was 88.
"It was unexpected at that moment," Downes-Le Guin said. "Her health had not been great."
The acclaimed author penned everything from short stories to children's books, but was best known for her work in the science fiction and fantasy realm.
Le Guin's stories challenged traditional ideas of power, gender and race with stories of young wizards, dragons and outer space.
She is perhaps best known for her Earthsea series, beginning with "A Wizard of Earthsea" in 1968. They are set on the archipelago world of Earthsea, where language is power, and a young wizard learns about morality and consequences.
She won five Hugo awards, science fiction's most prestigious honor, for titles including "The Left Hand of Darkness," set on the planet of Gethen where fixed gender identity doesn't exist; "The Dispossessed," which Le Guin called an "anarchist utopia" novel, and "The Word for World is Forest," where colonists from Earth have enslaved the native planet population.
Le Guin took many standard tropes of the fantasy and sci-fi genres and left them behind or turned them on their heads. Her books avoid simple black-and-white moral victories, and don't draw stark distinctions between good and evil. Her main characters often address conflict not with a big sword battle or fight, but with brains.
The US Library of Congress designated Le Guin a Living Legend in 2000, for her significant contribution to America's cultural heritage.
She had lived in Portland for almost 60 years and had lived in the same house for the past 36 years.
Downes-Le Guin described growing up with a mother with such a rich imagination. "She was an extraordinary conversationalist," he said. "There was never a wasted conversation."
Last year, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt published a book of her essays titled "No Time to Spare: Thinking About What Matters."
She had also written books on poetry and writing that are still unpublished, Downs-Le Guin said.

Neil Gaiman, a seven-time Hugo winner, remembered Le Guin for her wit and brains.
"Her words are always with us. Some of them are written on my soul," he wrote. "I miss her as a glorious funny prickly person, & I miss her as the deepest and smartest of the writers, too."
Writer Shannon Hale lamented Le Guin's death.
"She is a master storytell(er). She is fierce and frighteningly smart and does not tolerate fools. Her EARTHSEA books are a revelation," Hale tweeted.
"Look at the top tier of writers in science fiction and fantasy today ... and you see the unmistakable traces of Le Guin in their work," author John Scalzi wrote in the Los Angeles Times. "Multiple generations of her spiritual children, making the genre more humane and expansive, and better than it would have been without her."
In 2014, LeGuin was awarded the National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters. In her speech, she decried commercialism in publishing.
"We live in capitalism. Its power seems inescapable," she said. "So did the divine right of kings. Any human power can be resisted and changed by human beings. Resistance and change often begin in art and very often in our art, the art of words."
Le Guin was born Ursula Kroeber in Berkeley, California. Her mother was a writer and anthropologist and her father was an anthropologist. She went to Radcliffe College in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and received a Masters from Columbia University in New York.
In 1953 she married Charles Le Guin, a historian.
Her website says she wrote 20 novels, six collections of poetry and many short stories.
Latest News
Top news around the world
Academy Awards

‘Oppenheimer’ Reigns at Oscars With Seven Wins, Including Best Picture and Director

Get the latest news about the 2024 Oscars, including nominations, winners, predictions and red carpet fashion at 96th Academy Awards

Around the World

Celebrity News

> Latest News in Media

Watch It
Ruby Franke’s Husband REVEALS Alleged Rules He Had to Follow at Home | E! News
March 28, 2024
_mU-3lE2QwI
#KenanThompson speaks out following the #QuietonSet documentary. (🎥: Tamron Hall Show) #shorts
March 28, 2024
8AGP-Gfw_Ek
King Charles Shares "Great Sadness" at Missing Royal Appearance | E! News
March 28, 2024
lyizFqf1kQY
Martha Reeves Walk of Fame Ceremony
March 27, 2024
QzyezumEPtQ
Eminem, 50 Cent & Snoop Dogg Present Dr. Dre with a Star on the Walk of Fame
March 19, 2024
4bNLs1hxVp8
Opening Remarks for the Variety Summit October 20th, 2023 Jay Penske
March 18, 2024
c6Z707iLq8E
Montell Jordan Dishes On Young MC Wedding, 'This Is How Date Night' Plans | TMZ
March 28, 2024
G3SMExj-qio
Davina Potratz Says TV Not Helping 'Selling Sunset' Relationship Woes | TMZ
March 28, 2024
D4piy4GNm4k
Logan Paul Rips Graham Bensinger Over Documentary, You Promised Apple TV+ | TMZ Live
March 28, 2024
NiSDpZhZklQ
Prince William pinned royal medal to Spice Girl Mel B’s boobs #shorts
March 28, 2024
O1cQ0UW9pco
Jennifer Garner shares ‘hard’ part of raising her and Ben Affleck’s kids
March 28, 2024
3Q7mZaVUdgc
50 Cent's ex Daphne Joy named as an alleged sex worker in Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs lawsuit #shorts
March 28, 2024
yhLFI8DG9rM
TV Schedule
Late Night Show
Watch the latest shows of U.S. top comedians

Sports

Latest sport results, news, videos, interviews and comments
Latest Events
28
Mar
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: Playoffs - Women
PSG W - Hacken W
28
Mar
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: Playoffs - Women
Barcelona W - SK Brann W
27
Mar
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: Playoffs - Women
Chelsea W - Ajax W
27
Mar
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: Playoffs - Women
Lyon W - SL Benfica W
17
Mar
SPAIN: La Liga
Atletico Madrid - Barcelona
17
Mar
ENGLAND: FA Cup
Manchester United - Liverpool
17
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Inter Milan - Napoli
17
Mar
GERMANY: Bundesliga
Borussia Dortmund - Eintracht Frankfurt
17
Mar
ENGLAND: FA Cup
Chelsea - Leicester City
17
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Roma - Sassuolo
17
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Verona - AC Milan
17
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Juventus - Genoa
16
Mar
GERMANY: Bundesliga
Darmstadt - Bayern Munich
16
Mar
ENGLAND: FA Cup
Manchester City - Newcastle United
16
Mar
ENGLAND: Premier League
Fulham - Tottenham Hotspur
16
Mar
SPAIN: La Liga
Osasuna - Real Madrid
13
Mar
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: 1/8 Final
Atletico Madrid - Inter Milan
12
Mar
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: 1/8 Final
Barcelona - Napoli
12
Mar
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: 1/8 Final
Arsenal - Porto
Find us on Instagram
at @feedimo to stay up to date with the latest.
Featured Video You Might Like
zWJ3MxW_HWA L1eLanNeZKg i1XRgbyUtOo -g9Qziqbif8 0vmRhiLHE2U JFCZUoa6MYE UfN5PCF5EUo 2PV55f3-UAg W3y9zuI_F64 -7qCxIccihU pQ9gcOoH9R8 g5MRDEXRk4k
Copyright © 2020 Feedimo. All Rights Reserved.