Ursula Le Guin has died, sadly but not unexpectedly. Locus has an obituary, which is reasonably good though I disagree with them on what constitutes nonfiction (Dancing at the Edge of the World could be shelved there, or as poetry or fiction) but Always Coming Home, which I love enough to have had a heyiya-if tattooed on my arm, is fiction, whether or not it counts as a novel.

The New York Times obituary has more biographical detail (but a limit on how many articles they want to show you per month).

Unceasing, unending, unobstructed,
open, ongoing, incoming,
ever, ever, ever.
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wild_irises: (Default)

From: [personal profile] wild_irises


"The dead are dead. The great and mighty go their way unchecked. The only hope in the world lies in the people of no account." From "The Finder," in Tales from Earthsea
thnidu: Double spiral, spinning out from the empty space at a common center (heyiya-if)

From: [personal profile] thnidu


I screamed in woe when I saw your subject line. I must have been reading her works for nearly fifty years. She shaped much of my thinking about the world, and I thought of her as my spiritual mother. Along with The Dispossessed and the Earthsea series, Always Coming Home had the greatest effect on me.

One year, on or a little after the Spring Equinox, I sent her as a gift a poem I had written. In the letter, I wrote "Wherever they are, the people of the Na Valley are dancing the World tonight."

In Three Syllables

Little Bear Woman,
Given All Gifts,
they are both with us,
hiding their names
in three syllables.

Left arm & right arm,
what's at the hinge?
The Hole in the Air,
become a well.

I calligraphed the letter and poem. The ampersand was a modified heyiya-if.
She replied with a postcard that I still have: "It is good to be understood."

(Both your links go to the Locus obituary. I would swear that a few minutes ago one went to the Times one.)
Edited Date: 2018-01-24 02:02 am (UTC)
minoanmiss: A detail of the Ladies in Blue fresco (Default)

From: [personal profile] minoanmiss


How have I never discussed Always Coming Home with you? If I were to get a tattoo it likely would be a heyiya-if.

Bright the hawk's flight on the empty sky.

Thank you, Ms. Leguin. So much.
thnidu: Double spiral, spinning out from the empty space at a common center (heyiya-if)

From: [personal profile] thnidu


«If I were to get a tattoo it likely would be a heyiya-if.»

I have been wondering, not seriously, about sometime getting a tattoo, but I didn't know of what. Now it's just a bit more serious, and the question is pretty much answered.
.

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