The Left Hand of Le Guin Podcast

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The Left Hand of Le Guin is all about the works of Ursula K. Le Guin. We talk with fans, scholars, readers, writers, obsessives, and aim to cover all her stories, novels, essays, and even those works that inspired her or which she inspired.


    • Sep 11, 2022 LATEST EPISODE
    • monthly NEW EPISODES
    • 10 EPISODES


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    Latest episodes from The Left Hand of Le Guin Podcast

    10. Discussion of 'The Carrier Bag Theory of Fiction'

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 11, 2022


    A discussion of 'The Carrier Bag Theory of Fiction' with David Naimon and Susan DeFreitas

    09. Three Short Stories

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 3, 2022


    A discussion with Evan Dahm about three classic Le Guin stories: "Semley's Necklace," "The Word of Unbinding," and "Vaster Than Empires and More Slow."

    08. Lavinia

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 10, 2022


    Discussion with June Martin about Le Guin's last novel Lavinia

    07. The Eye of the Heron

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 26, 2022


    Discussion of The Eye of the Heron with Mattie Lewis.

    06. The Beginning Place

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 5, 2022


    A discussion with Prof. Tim Miller of Florida Atlantic University about THE BEGINNING PLACE.

    05. Two Essays

    Play Episode Listen Later May 15, 2022


    A discussion with Gerry Canavan of Marquette University about two essays.

    04. The Left Hand of Darkness

    Play Episode Listen Later May 1, 2022


    Discussion of The Left Hand of Darkness with Kate Sheckler of Marianopolis College in Quebec, Canada

    03. The Tombs of Atuan

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 20, 2022


    Discussion with writer Paul Jessup about The Tombs of Atuan Intro 0:00 Paul's 1st encounter with Le Guin and 1st read of THE TOMBS OF ATUAN 3:35 The place of ATUAN in the greater collection/its difference from the cycle 5:42 Anthropological influences/Ishi of Two Worlds (Yana group) 8:10 ATUAN's compression/density/atmosphere/structure (Paul mistakes the opening scene for the one in THE FARTHEST SHORE. Oops!) 11:15 Belated, brief summary of book (spoilers!) 15:25 Bildungsromans/the book's rituals/religious mythos 18:00 Claims of “austerity” in Le Guin's prose/Kyle's shock/the poetry and mis-expectation of overwriting in fantasy 28:30 Tolkien's influence, positive and negative, on writers of Le Guin's generation 38:05 ATUAN and folk horror (THE WICKER MAN was released 5 yrs after ATUAN in 1975!) 41:40 Relationship btw character prior to Ged's appearing halfway thru 43:10 Reversal of agency/power in ATUAN/Le Guin's narrative subversion 48:50 Jungian psychology in ATUAN 51:48 The leaving behind of childhood 55:35 Ring of Erreth-Akbe as MacGuffin 57:12 Maps, map confusion, and psychogeography of book 1:01:00

    02. The Language of A Wizard of Earthsea

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 6, 2022


    Discussion of the language of Earthsea with Kyle Winkler and guests James Gifford and Simon McNeil. Next episode, we move onto the Tombs of Atuan, with author Paul Jessup.

    01. A Wizard of Earthsea

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 1, 2022


    Discussion of A Wizard of Earthsea with Kyle Winkler and guests James Gifford and Simon McNeil

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