Dispatches from Anarres: Tales in Tribute to Ursula K. Le Guin - by Susan DeFreitas (Paperback)

About the Book

"Named for the anarchist utopia in Ursula K. Le Guin's science fiction classic The Dispossessed, Dispatches from Anarres embodies the anarchic spirit of Le Guin's hometown, Portland, Oregon, while paying tribute to her enduring vision. In stories that range from fantasy to sci fi to realism, some of Portland's most vital voices have come together to celebrate Le Guin's lasting legacy and influence on that most subversive of human faculties: the imagination. Fonda Lee's "Old Souls" explores the role of violence and redemption across time and space; Rachael K. Jones's "The Night Bazaar for Women Turning into Reptiles" touches on gender oppression and a woman's right to choose; Molly Gloss's "Wenonah's Gift" imagines coming-of-age in a post-collapse culture determined to avoid past wrongs; and Lidia Yuknavitch's "Neuron" reveals that fairy tales may, in fact, be the best way to understand the paradoxes of science. Other contributors include Curtis Chen, Kesha Ajòosòe-Fisher, Juhea Kim, Tina Connolly, David D. Levine, Leni Zumas, Rene Denfeld, and Michelle Ruiz Keil, with a foreword by David Naimon, co-author (with Le Guin) of Ursula K. Le Guin: Conversations on Writing"--

Book Synopsis

Named for the anarchist utopia in Ursula K. Le Guin's science fiction classic The Dispossessed, Dispatches from Anarres embodies the anarchic spirit of Le Guin's hometown of Portland, Oregon, while paying tribute to her enduring vision.

In stories that range from fantasy to sci fi to realism, some of Portland's most vital voices have come together to celebrate Le Guin's lasting legacy and influence on that most subversive of human faculties: the imagination. Fonda Lee's "Old Souls" explores the role of violence and redemption across time and space; Rachael K. Jones's "The Night Bazaar for Women Turning into Reptiles" touches on gender oppression and a woman's right to choose; Molly Gloss's "Wenonah's Gift" imagines coming-of-age in a post-collapse culture determined to avoid past wrongs; and Lidia Yuknavitch's "Neuron" reveals that fairy tales may, in fact, be the best way to understand the paradoxes of science. Other contributors include Curtis Chen, Kesha Ajọsẹ-Fisher, Juhea Kim, Tina Connolly, David D. Levine, Leni Zumas, Rene Denfeld, and Michelle Ruiz Keil, with a foreword by David Naimon, co-author (with Le Guin) of Ursula K. Le Guin: Conversations on Writing.

Review Quotes

"Dispatches from Anarres is what happens when a bunch of brilliant writers come together to pay tribute to a singular literary giant. This polyphony of voices from real and imagined worlds is timely, audacious, and teeming with style."

--Kimberly King Parsons, author of Black Light

"Ursula K. Le Guin never inspired others to write like her; she inspired them to find their own imaginative powers. These deeply original stories are the result: magical, moral, wise, beautiful, and full of surprises."

--Julie Phillips, author of The Baby on the Fire Escape: Motherhood, Creativity, and the Mind-Baby Problem, and of a forthcoming biography of Le Guin

"The work of Ursula K. Le Guin echoes across our time like a chorus sung by a mighty voice. Dispatches from Anarres gives other voices the chance to answer back with mighty verse. . . . A truly gorgeous anthology, with voices the world needs to hear calling the tune."

--Meg Elison, author of The Book of the Unnamed Midwife

"A beautiful homage to the late Ursula K. Le Guin."

--Annie Carl, bookseller, The Neverending Bookshop

"I'll be recommending this book forever."

--Joe Sacksteder, author of The Driftless Quintet

"This remarkable anthology of short stories in tribute to Ursula K. Le Guin is filled with thoughtful, heartbreaking, funny tales. Some will remind you of Le Guin and others of her spirit."

--Doug Chase, bookseller, Powell's Books

"In the spirit of Ursula K. Le Guin's own 'Carrier Bag Theory of Fiction, ' in which she envisioned a storytelling beyond the old fixation on conflict and battles, Dispatches from Anarres gathers a beautiful collection of healing stories. From the whimsical to the political, these Portland writers' magical imaginations and commitment to social justice shine on every page."

--Ariel Gore, author of Hexing the Patriarchy

About the Author

An American of Indo-Guyanese descent, Susan DeFreitas is the author of the novel Hot Season, which won a Gold IPPY Award; her work has been featured in the Writer's Chronicle, Story magazine, Daily Science Fiction, Portland Monthly, and High Desert Journal, among other numerous other journals and anthologies. As an independent editor and book coach, she specializes in helping writers from historically marginalized backgrounds, and those writing socially engaged fiction, break through into publishing. She divides her time between Santa Fe, New Mexico, and Portland, Oregon.