Aussiecon (1975) Worldcon - Ursula K. Le Guin Guest of Honor Speech

AussieCon, the 33rd Worldcon, was held in Melbourne, Australia in 1975. Guest of Honor Ursula K. Le Guin gave an insightful and entertaining speech about the state of science fiction, and her part in it. There's a real sense of community evident here, as well as a delightful sense of humor (look for the propeller beanie). Le Guin's comments on the place of women in the field are particularly interesting. The bearded gentleman who introduces her is Robin Johnson, chairman of Aussiecon. Thanks to S.C.I.F.I. for digitizing, and to Elayne Pelz for providing us the footage. For more Fan History, visit Fanac.org and Fancyclopedia.org .

[@Primarch359]

Thank you to whoever saved this over the years

[@athenassigil5820]

RIP , you were an amazing writer.Wonderful speaker, too! Loved this talk, it was like being in 75, again.

[@bozart6001]

She's my favorite author , and I love her .

[@deanzig]

Strong agree

[@FANACFanHistory]

Glad you all liked it.

[@kittybyrne4082]

A very erudite, intelligent and amusing woman. Inspiring.

[@PinakiSwain]

"I will be glad to see a day where I could go to a library and see The man in the high castle....by an author named Philip K Dock next to that of Charles Dickens where it belongs." Brilliant speech. Thanks for sharing this.

[@AtomicusPrime]

This is amazing! I still have yet to read anything by her - I will start with her essays on craft. Thank you a million times over for saving and sharing this powerful artifact.

[@stellasun3815]

This is gold!!! And such high quality! Thanks so much for posting

[@hainish2381]

Thank you so much for posting this document! Extraordinary woman and extraordinary speach.

[@LargoGabriel]

Earthsea rules!

[@jbr4gg]

Great comments on perfection and artistic endeavor at 24:00 or so

[@tohellwithintentions]

omg the reference to the '75 constitutional crisis in Australia - excellent

[@ricardosalinas308]

This is extraordinary. Thanks so much for posting it.

[@jamesrichey]

Thank you for these videos. I have such fond memories of these writers and their stories.

[@FANACFanHistory]

You're very welcome!

[@anniemundie4421]

Thank you so much for doing this for us

[@FANACFanHistory]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@metanoiacloud3718]

What an absolute delight. Thank you.

[@jadenwaz9585]

“To cling to a posture of evasion and defense once persecution and contempt has ceased is not to be a rebel but to be a cripple.”

[@jonasvanmaldeghem688]

Thanks for this upload. What a woman!

[@BecomeUseful]

This is great. Thank you for sharing. I’d love to see more.

[@AdnanAlsannaa]

This is amazing. Thank u for sharing

[@jordanresnick8761]

I love her so much.

[@robertdavenport7802]

Inspiring.

[@jadenwaz9585]

Brilliant woman.

[@paulrudd1063]

Wow. When you listen to this lecture today and put it in context it is incredible. She would have been so happy to see women like JK Rowling achieve such success. Her observation about schools not letting kids read “escapist” literature still holds true. Schools haven’t progressed in 50 years.

[@Anonymous-xm8ir]

Indeed. Totally agree about schools not having progressed beyond anything which is not considered "real literature". Though, I believe "The Left Hand of Darkness" is on course to becoming one of those definitive novels - a la Tolkien - that not only transcends Si-Fi / Fantasy, but redefines it as "real literature". Schools will be adding it to their curriculum... next century... no doubt. It takes awhile to catch up. Regarding JK Rowling, Le Guin died in 2018, so she would have certainly witnessed the massive success of Harry Potter (books, films, theme parks, etc.) and the god(ess) like status bestowed on Rowling. In fact she said of Rowling... "This last is the situation, as I see it, between my A Wizard of Earthsea and J.K.Rowling’s Harry Potter. I didn’t originate the idea of a school for wizards - if anybody did it was T.H.White, though he did it in single throwaway line and didn’t develop it. I was the first to do that. Years later, Rowling took the idea and developed it along other lines. She didn't plagiarize. She didn’t copy anything. Her book, in fact, could hardly be more different from mine, in style, spirit, everything. The only thing that rankles me is her apparent reluctance to admit that she ever learned anything from other writers. When ignorant critics praised her wonderful originality in inventing the idea of a wizards’ school, and some of them even seemed to believe that she had invented fantasy, she let them do so. This, I think, was ungenerous, and in the long run unwise."

[@Kuhmuhnistische_Partei]

She died in 2018, so she knew JK Rowling and the Harry Potter books. She didn't like those book: "When so many adult critics were carrying on about the 'incredible originality' of the first Harry Potter book, I read it to find out what the fuss was about, and remained somewhat puzzled; it seemed a lively kids fantasy crossed with a 'school novel', good fare for it age group, but stylistically ordinary, imaginatively derivative, and ethically rather mean-spirited"

[@Danlovar]

She is not that important.

[@deanzig]

Who of us is?

[@Ahopek]

Is it you who wrote "She is not that important" in the comments of at least one other interview I've seen of hers? If she isn't important, why do you take the time to watch her, and then comment? To paraphrase someone's reply under the other video, Ursula K Le Guin won't be important to people who don't appreciate the craft.

[@keaganwheeler-mccann8565]

Listen to what she is actually saying. Judge the value of the words on their merit.

[@Highbrowser]

How many books have you published?