Description

‘One of the literary greats of the twentieth century’ MARGARET ATWOOD
‘A crafter of fierce, focused, fertile dreams’ DAVID MITCHELL
‘A literary icon’ STEPHEN KING

Hard times are coming, when we’ll be wanting the voices of writers who can see alternatives to how we live now, can see through our fear-stricken society and its obsessive technologies to other ways of being, and even imagine real grounds for hope. We’ll need writers who can remember freedom – poets, visionaries – realists of a larger reality . . .

Words Are My Matter is a selection of Ursula K. Le Guin’s best writing on literature, articulating with precision and passion her belief in the social and political value of storytelling – especially in hard times. In doing so, and with her characteristic spirit, Le Guin offers both a glimmer of hope and a set of operating instructions for a life lived with meaning.

Publisher Review

Splendid. A clarion call for resistance, reminding us that any broken system is fixable, and that the fixing falls on our own participatory hands -- MARIA POPOVA * * Marginalian * * Stalked by the long shadows of authoritarianism, ecological collapse and perpetual war, [Le Guin's] writing feels more urgent than ever * * Nation * * Here, life and art mix in thoughtful reviews of books alongside strident, witty, original essays and speeches * * Bookseller * * A brilliant collection [that] showcases one of our foremost public literary intellectuals * * NPR * * [A] generous, edifying and invaluable collection * * Booklist * * Praise for Ursula K. Le Guin: 'A literary icon -- STEPHEN KING One of the literary greats of the twentieth century -- MARGARET ATWOOD A crafter of fierce, focused, fertile dreams -- DAVID MITCHELL