Words Are My Matter

Writings on Life and Books

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Ursula K. Le Guin: Words Are My Matter (2019, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Trade & Reference Publishers)

336 pages

English language

Published Jan. 21, 2019 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Trade & Reference Publishers.

ISBN:
978-0-358-21210-2
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4 stars (3 reviews)

3 editions

Review of 'Words are my matter' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

I've enjoyed Ursula Le Guin's stories and the few interviews with her that I've heard or read. This was a worthwhile read too. The collection is broken up into 3 parts of roughly equal size:

Essays/Talks: Some good, thought-provoking stuff here. There are recurring themes for sure - notably gender treatment (as expected) and a chip-on-the-shoulder defense of sci-fi/fantasy work. The short piece "What It Was Like" (concerning abortion) continues to stick with me. It's a knotty, complex, sensitive topic and I've never heard a perspective quite like hers before.

Book Intros/Notes on Writers: It's fascinating to hear an author's take on other authors. My personal takeaway from this part is that I need to check out [a:José Saramago|1285555|José Saramago|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1497455560p2/1285555.jpg] for myself.

Book Reviews: This is very subjective stuff of course, and admittedly I like finding spots where I disagree (otherwise I start to suspect that I'm blindly nodding along). …