Famed fantasy author, Ursula K. Le Guin, to speak at George Fox

Author Ursula K. Le Guin speaks at George Fox Jan. 14
George Fox University

Public is invited to attend event, held in honor of poet William Stafford, for free

Ursula K. Le Guin, a profilic author whose books have been finalists for the American Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize, will join fellow Oregon author Eleanor Berry to read poetry and interact with the audience at George Fox University from 2 to 4 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 14, in Room 105 of the school’s Hoover Academic Building.

The event is a follow-up to the university’s William Stafford celebration hosted last January, in honor of the former U.S. poet laureate and Oregon poet laureate whose life and works exemplified a quest for peace and truth. The public is invited to attend free of charge.

Le Guin writes both poetry and prose in various modes, including realistic fiction, science fiction, fantasy, young children’s books, books for young adults, screenplays, essays, verbal texts for musicians, and voice texts. She has published seven books of poetry, 22 novels, more than 100 short stories (collected in 11 volumes), four collections of essays, 12 books for children, and four volumes of translation.

Berry, a former teacher of writing and literature at Willamette University, organizes poetry events in nearby Stayton, is a member of the committee that oversees the Oregon Poetry Collection at the Oregon State Library, and serves on the boards of the Marion Cultural Development Corporation and the Oregon State Poetry Association. Her poetry and essays on poetry have been widely published in journals and anthologies. Green November, a book of poems derived from her acclimation to western Oregon, was published in 2007.

Most of Le Guin’s major titles have remained continuously in print, some for more than 40 years. Her best-known fantasy works, the six Books of Earthsea, have sold millions of copies in America and England and have been translated into 16 languages. Her first major work of science fiction, The Left Hand of Darkness, is considered epoch-making in the field for its radical investigation of gender roles and its moral and literary complexity.

She has received many awards, including the Hugo, Nebula, National Book Award, PEN-Malamud, and others. Her recent publications include the novel Lavinia, an essay collection, Cheek by Jowl and The Wild Girls. Forthcoming in 2012 are Finding My Elegy and New and Selected Poems.

Le Guin and Berry’s appearance is being sponsored by George Fox’s Center for Peace and Justice, the Friends of William Stafford and two of that organization’s board members, Dennis and Helen Schmidling. For more information on the event, contact Melanie Newell, coordinator of the Center for Peace and Justice, at 503-554-2686.


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