Words Are My Matter gathers talks, essays, introductions to beloved books, and book reviews by Ursula K. Le Guin, one of our foremost public literary intellectuals. A must-listen collection, Words Are My Matter is a manual for investigating the depth and breadth of contemporary fiction—and, through the lens of deep considerations of contemporary writing, a way of exploring the world we are all living in.
"We need writers who know the difference between production of a market commodity and the practice of an art. Developing written material to suit sales strategies in order to maximize corporate profit and advertising revenue is not the same thing as responsible book publishing or authorship." *
Le Guin is one of those authors, and this is another of her moments. She has published more than sixty books ranging from fiction to nonfiction, children's books to poetry, and has received many lifetime achievement awards, including the Library of Congress Living Legends award.
* From "Freedom," a speech in acceptance of the National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters.
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“What [Le Guin] says of poetry—‘Its primary job is simply to find the words that give it its right, true shape’—might well be said of all the shapely pieces in this generous, edifying, and invaluable collection.”
— Booklist (starred review)
What she says of poetry-'Its primary job is simply to find the words that give it its right, true shape'-might well be said of all the shapely pieces in this generous, edifying, and invaluable collection.
— Booklist Starred ReviewBe the first to write a review about this audiobook!
Ursula K. Le Guin (1929–2018) was an American author of novels, children’s books, and short stories, mainly in the genres of fantasy and science fiction. She has also written poetry, literary criticism, and essays. She was widely recognized as one of the greatest science fiction writers in the history of the genre. She won both the Hugo and Nebula Awards on several occasions, as well as the National Book Award, the PEN/Malamud Award, and many other honors and prizes. In 2014, she was awarded the National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters.
Laural Merlington is an audiobook narrator with over two hundred titles to her credit and a winner of multiple Earphones Awards. An Audie Award nominee, she has also directed over one hundred audiobooks. She has performed and directed for thirty years in theaters throughout the country. In addition to her extensive theater and voice-over work, she teaches college in her home state of Michigan.