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EwaWiśniewska
Utopia,TheWordforWorldisForest,FourWaystoForgiveness,The
Telling,aswellasshortstories:GDowryofAngyar”,GWinter’sKing”,
GVasterthanEmpiresandMoreSlow”,GTheDayBeforetheRevolution”,
GTheShobies’Story”,GDancingtoGanam”,GAnotherStoryOR
AFishermanoftheInlandSea”,GTheMatterofSeggri”,GUnchosen
Love”,GSolitude”,GComingofAgeinKarthide”,GMountainWays”,and
GOldMusicandtheSlaveWomen”.GDowryofAngyar”alsoservesasa
prologuetoGRocannon’sWorld”andeventhoughitisusuallyclassified
assciencefiction,itsgenreisamixtureofbothsciencefictionandfantasy.
HerpopularityasasciencefictionwriterdoesnotreallyapplytoPoland,
where,owingtogreattranslationsoftheEarthseacyclemadebyStanisław
Barańczak,sheisfirstandforemostappreciatedasthemasteroffantasy.
60UrsulaK0LeGuin’sotherliteraryachievements
Ashasalreadybeenmentioned,LeGuinisamasterofnotonlyfantasy
andsciencefiction,herliteraryachievementsextendbeyondprosewiting.
Sheisanacclaimedpoetaswell,andassourcesclaimGthesevenvolumes
ofverseshehaspublishedoverthepastthreedecadeswouldmake
aperfectlyrespectableliterarycareerallbythemselves”(Freedman
Introductionxviii).
LeGuin’sadmirersstressthefactthatsheisalsoatranslator,having
producedanEnglish-languageversionofLaoTzu’sTaoTeChingin1997
(FreedmanIntroductionxviii).Thewriteradmitsshedoesnotknow
Chinese,soshecannotclaimtohavedoneatranslation.Sheexplains:GIt
isaversionbuiltupfromalltheotherEnglishversions,andacoupleof
Frenchones,andtheChinesewordforwordtranslation,andalotofhelp
frommycollaboratorwhodoesknowChinese,ancientChinese”(LeGuin
inEscudié134).Thenameofthatcollaboratorisnotmentioned,though.
AccordingtoBianga,whatlinksallthebooksbyLeGuinistheideaof
theworldbasedontraditionalChinesethinking,Taoism.InTao
philosophy,theuppermostconceptismovement:theworldisnotstatic,
butisinconstantmovementthroughthecoexistenceoftwopowerful
opposingforces:yinandyang,whichrepresentfemaleandmalepowers.
LeGuincontinuestosearchfortheworld’strueharmonyinthetwo
oppositesthatclashandtherebycomplementoneanother(Bianga11).She
acceptsthehumanbeingasaunity,withbothgoodnessandevil(Bianga
12).ContrarytoChristianbeliefs,Taoismrejectstheideaofstruggle
betweengoodandevil.ThewordTaomeansGway”andsuggeststhemoral
lawaccordingtowhichallhumanbeingsshouldact,orratherleavethings
