Essays by Ursula K. Le Guin

Chronological

1972

• "Fifteen Vultures, The Strop, and the Old Lady" (in Clarion II: An Anthology of Speculative Fiction and Criticism, edited by Robin Scott Wilson (New American Library / Signet: 1972)) - An essay on being a writer.

1973

• "On Theme" (accompanying "Nine Lives," in Those Who Can: A Science Fiction Reader, edited by Robin Scott Wilson (1973))
• ""From Elfland to Poughkeepsie" (1973 chapbook - Pendragon Press: June 1973. ISBN 091401000X.)

1976

• "The Space Crone" (1976) (in Dancing at the Edge of the World)
• "Is Gender Necessary? Redux" (1976) (in Dancing at the Edge of the World)

1978

• "Moral and Ethical Implications of Family Planning" (1978) (in Dancing at the Edge of the World)

1979

• "It Was a Dark and Stormy Night" (1979) (in Dancing at the Edge of the World)
• "Working on 'The Lathe'" (1979) (in Dancing at the Edge of the World)

1980

• "Some Thoughts on Narrative" (1980) (in Dancing at the Edge of the World)

1981

• "World-Making" (1981) (in Dancing at the Edge of the World)
• "Hunger" (1981) (in Dancing at the Edge of the World)
• "Place Names" (1981) (in Dancing at the Edge of the World)

1982

• "The Princess" (1982) (in Dancing at the Edge of the World)
• "A Non-Euclidean View of California as a Cold Place to Be" (1982) (in Dancing at the Edge of the World)
• "Facing It" (1982) (in Dancing at the Edge of the World)

1983

• "Reciprocity of Prose and Poetry" (1983) (in Dancing at the Edge of the World)
• "A Left-Handed Commencement Address" (1983) (in Dancing at the Edge of the World)
• "Along the Platte" (1983) (in Dancing at the Edge of the World)

1984

• "Whose Lathe?" (1984) (in Dancing at the Edge of the World)
• "The Woman Without Answers" (1984) (in Dancing at the Edge of the World)
• "The Second Report of the Shipwrecked Foreigner to the Kadanh of Derb" (1984) (in Dancing at the Edge of the World)

1985

• "Room 9, Car 1430" (1985) (in Dancing at the Edge of the World)
• "Theodora" (1985) (in Dancing at the Edge of the World)
• "Science Fiction and the Future" (1985) (in Dancing at the Edge of the World)
• "The Only Good Author?" (1985) (in Dancing at the Edge of the World)

1986

• "Bryn Mawr Commencement Address" (1986) (in Dancing at the Edge of the World)
• "Woman / Wilderness" (1986) (in Dancing at the Edge of the World)
• "The Carrier Bag Theory of Fiction" (1986) (in Dancing at the Edge of the World)
• "Heroes" (1986) (in Dancing at the Edge of the World)
• "Prospects for Women in Writing" (1986) (in Dancing at the Edge of the World)
• "Text, Silence, Performance" (1986) (in Dancing at the Edge of the World)

1987

• "Who is Responsible?" (1987) (in Dancing at the Edge of the World)
• "Conflict" (1987) (in Dancing at the Edge of the World)
• "Where Do You Get Your Ideas From?" (1987) (in Dancing at the Edge of the World)

1988

• "Over the Hills and a Great Way Off" (1988) (in Dancing at the Edge of the World)
• "The Fisherwoman's Daughter" (1988) (in Dancing at the Edge of the World)

1992

• "Talking About Writing" (originally published in The Writer, v. 105 (Dec. 1992), pp. 9-11.)

2003

• "Subversive Truths" (in Gobshite Quarterly issue 3 (Aug. 2003), p. 25)

2004

• "A Whitewashed Earthsea: How the Sci Fi Channel wrecked my books", Slate (Dec. 16, 2004). http://www.slate.com/id/2111107/

2008

• "Staying Awake: Notes on the Alleged Decline of Reading", Harper's Magazine (February 2008, pp. 33-38)

By title

A

• "About Feet" (in The Wave in the Mind)
• "All Happy Families" (in The Wave in the Mind)
• "Along the Platte" (1983) (in Dancing at the Edge of the World)
• "American SF and The Other" (in Language of the Night, 2d ed)
• "Assumptions About Fantasy" (in Cheek and Jowl)
• "Award and Gender" (in The Wave in the Mind)

B

• "Being Taken for Granite" (in The Wave in the Mind)
• "The Book Is What Is Real: Introduction" (in Language of the Night, 2d ed)
• "Bryn Mawr Commencement Address" (1986) (in Dancing at the Edge of the World)

C

• "The Carrier Bag Theory of Fiction" (1986) (in Dancing at the Edge of the World)
• "Cheek by Jowl: Animals in Children's Literature" (in Cheek and Jowl)
• "The Child and the Shadow" (in Language of the Night, 2d ed)
• "A Citizen of Mondath" (in Language of the Night, 2d ed)
• "Collectors, Rhymesters, and Drummers" (in The Wave in the Mind)
• "Conflict" (1987) (in Dancing at the Edge of the World)
• "The Critics, the Monsters, and the Fantasists" (in Cheek and Jowl)

D

• "Do-It-Yourself Cosmology" (in Language of the Night, 2d ed)
• "Dogs, Cats, and Dancers: Thoughts About Beauty" (in The Wave in the Mind)
• "Dreams Must Explain Themselves" (in Language of the Night, 2d ed)

E

• "Escape Routes (in Language of the Night, 2d ed)

F

• "Facing It" (1982) (in Dancing at the Edge of the World)
• "Fact and/or/plus Fiction" (in The Wave in the Mind)
• "The Fisherwoman's Daughter" (1988) (in Dancing at the Edge of the World)
• "From Elfland to Poughkeepsie" (in Language of the Night, 2d ed)

G

H

• "Heroes" (1986) (in Dancing at the Edge of the World)
• "Hunger" (1981) (in Dancing at the Edge of the World)

I

• "Indian Uncles" (in The Wave in the Mind)
• "Introducing Myself" (in The Wave in the Mind)
• "Is Gender Necessary?"
• "Is Gender Necessary? Redux" (1976) (in Dancing at the Edge of the World; in Language of the Night, 2d ed)
• "It Was a Dark and Stormy Night" (1979) (in Dancing at the Edge of the World)

• "Introduction to Star Songs of an Old Primate" (in Language of the Night, 2d ed)
• "Introduction to The Altered I (excerpt)" (in Language of the Night, 2d ed)
• "Introduction to Rocannon's World" (in Language of the Night, 2d ed)
• "Introduction to Planet of Exile" (in Language of the Night, 2d ed)
• "Introduction to City of Illusions" (in Language of the Night, 2d ed)
• "Introduction to The Word for World Is Forest" (in Language of the Night, 2d ed)
• "Introduction to The Left Hand of Darkness" (in Language of the Night, 2d ed)

L

• "A Left-Handed Commencement Address" (1983) (in Dancing at the Edge of the World)
• "Le Guin Introduces Le Guin: Introduction" (in Language of the Night, 2d ed)

M

• "A Matter of Trust" (in The Wave in the Mind)
• "A Message About Messages" (in Cheek and Jowl)
• "The Modest One" (in Language of the Night, 2d ed)
• "Moral and Ethical Implications of Family Planning" (1978) (in Dancing at the Edge of the World)
• "My Island" (in The Wave in the Mind)
• "My Libraries" (in The Wave in the Mind)
• "Myth and Archetype in Science Fiction" (in Language of the Night, 2d ed)

N

• "National Book Award Acceptance Speech" (in Language of the Night, 2d ed)
• "A Non-Euclidean View of California as a Cold Place to Be" (1982) (in Dancing at the Edge of the World)

O

• "Off the Page: Loud Cows: A Talk and a Poem About Reading Aloud" (in The Wave in the Mind)
• "Old Body Not Writing" (in The Wave in the Mind)
• "On Fantasy and Science Fiction: Introduction" (in Language of the Night, 2d ed)
• "On the Frontier" (in The Wave in the Mind)
• "On Genetic Determinism" (in The Wave in the Mind)
• "The Only Good Author?" (1985) (in Dancing at the Edge of the World)
• "The Operating Instructions" (in The Wave in the Mind)
• "Over the Hills and a Great Way Off" (1988) (in Dancing at the Edge of the World)

P

• "Place Names" (1981) (in Dancing at the Edge of the World)
• "Prides: An Essay on Writing Workshops" (in The Wave in the Mind)
• "The Princess" (1982) (in Dancing at the Edge of the World)
• "Prospects for Women in Writing" (1986) (in Dancing at the Edge of the World)
• "Pushing at the Limits: Introduction" (in Language of the Night, 2d ed)

Q

• "The Question I Get Asked Most Often" (in The Wave in the Mind)

R

• "Re-Reading Peter Rabbit" (in Cheek and Jowl)
• "Reading Young, Reading Old: Mark Twain's Diaries of Adam and Eve" (in The Wave in the Mind)
• "Reciprocity of Prose and Poetry" (1983) (in Dancing at the Edge of the World)
• "Rhythmic Pattern in The Lord of the Rings" (in The Wave in the Mind)
• "Room 9, Car 1430" (1985) (in Dancing at the Edge of the World)

S

• "Science Fiction and Mrs. Brown" (in Language of the Night, 2d ed)
• "Science Fiction and the Future" (1985) (in Dancing at the Edge of the World)
• "The Second Report of the Shipwrecked Foreigner to the Kadanh of Derb" (1984) (in Dancing at the Edge of the World)
• "Some Thoughts on Narrative" (1980) (in Dancing at the Edge of the World)
• "The Space Crone" (1976) (in Dancing at the Edge of the World)
• "The Stalin in the Soul" (in Language of the Night, 2d ed)
• "The Staring Eye" (in Language of the Night, 2d ed)
• "Staying Awake: Notes on the Alleged Decline of Reading", Harper's Magazine (February 2008, pp.33-38)
• "The Stone Ax and the Muskoxen" (in Language of the Night, 2d ed)
• "Stress-Rhythm in Poetry and Prose" (in The Wave in the Mind)
• "Subversive Truths" (in Gobshite Quarterly issue 3 (Aug. 2003), p. 25)

T

• "Talking About Writing" (in Language of the Night, 2d ed)
• "Telling Is Listening" (in The Wave in the Mind)
• "Telling the Truth: Introduction" (in Language of the Night, 2d ed)
• "Text, Silence, Performance" (1986) (in Dancing at the Edge of the World)
• "Theodora" (1985) (in Dancing at the Edge of the World)
• "Things Not Actually Present: On The Book of Fantasy and J. L. Borges" (in The Wave in the Mind)
• "Thinking About Cordwainer Smith" (in The Wave in the Mind)

U

• "Unquestioned Assumptions" (in The Wave in the Mind)

W

• "'A War Without End'" (in The Wave in the Mind)
• "Where Do You Get Your Ideas From?" (1987) (in Dancing at the Edge of the World)
• "A Whitewashed Earthsea: How the Sci Fi Channel wrecked my books", Slate (Dec. 16, 2004). http://www.slate.com/id/2111107/
• "Who is Responsible?" (1987) (in Dancing at the Edge of the World)
• "Whose Lathe?" (1984) (in Dancing at the Edge of the World)
• "Why Are Americans Afraid of Dragons?" (in Language of the Night, 2d ed)
• "Why Kids Want Fantasy" (in Cheek and Jowl)
• "The Wilderness Within" (in Cheek and Jowl)
• "The Wilderness Within: The Sleeping Beauty and 'The Poacher'" (in The Wave in the Mind)
• "Woman / Wilderness" (1986) (in Dancing at the Edge of the World)
• "The Woman Without Answers" (1984) (in Dancing at the Edge of the World)
• "Working on 'The Lathe'" (1979) (in Dancing at the Edge of the World)
• "World-Making" (1981) (in Dancing at the Edge of the World)
• "The Writer and the Character" (in The Wave in the Mind)
• "The Writer on, and at, Her Work" (in The Wave in the Mind)

Y

• "The Young Adult in the YA" (in Cheek and Jowl)

Collections

• Dancing at the Edge of the World: Thoughts on Words, Women, Places (1989, Grove Press)
• The Language of the Night: Essays on Fantasy and Science Fiction (1979, ed. Susan Wood, G.P. Putnam; 1989, Women's Press; 2nd edition published in 1992 by HarperCollins)
• Steering the Craft: Exercises and Discussions on Story Writing for the Lone Navigator or the Mutinous Crew (1998, Eight Mountain)
• The Wave in the Mind: Talks and Essays on the Writer, the Reader, and the Imagination (2004, Shambhala), winner 2005 Locus Award, best nonfiction
• Cheek by Jowl: Talks and Essays on How and Why Fantasy Matters (Aqueduct Press, April 2009) (winner, Locus Award, 2010, "Best Non-Fiction / Art Book".