The language of the night

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1. hodgesrmSep 2026
   > The language of the night, essays by Ursula Le Guin

   That sounds really cool! I love Ursula Le Guin but had never heard of this book.

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2. AnimatsSep 2023
   Le Guin's precepts on how to write fantasy are in "The Language of the Night".[1] It's hard to get, but an excellent book.

   [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Language_of_the_Night

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3. AnimatsMay 2023
   The classic essay on this subject is "From Elfland to Poughkeepsie" in "The Language of the Night", by Ursula LeGuin.
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4. AnimatsOct 2022
   > Ursula K. Le Guin pulls off the rare trick of being an incredible writer _and_ critic.

   Yes. Read her "From Elfland to Poughkeepsie", in "The Language of the Night", where she discusses what makes fantasy read like fantasy.

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5. bryanrasmussenFeb 2021
   LeGuin had a great essay called The Stalin in The Soul regarding Zamyatin and We, I first read it in her book The Language of The Night about 40 years ago https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Language_of_the_Night

   Haven't found it online, but did find this description of it http://jesseabrahamlucas.blogspot.com/2017/03/the-stalin-in-... - for some reason I remembered it as the Stalin of The Soul.

   on edit: Note the description is anti-LeGuin, and her conclusions of the essay, but is still worth reading I think.

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6. AnimatsAug 2016
   "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas" is perhaps her most biting short story. It's not one of the Orsinian tales, although it could have been set in that world.

   Anyone who writes fantasy should read her essays in "The Language of the Night". (Also Poul Anderson's "On Thud and Blunder".)

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