Born in Berkeley, California, on October 21, 1929, Ursula Kroeber was the youngest child of psychologist, Theodora, and anthropologist, Alfred Kroeber. As a child, she read myths, legends, and science fiction. In college and graduate school she studied French and Italian literature. After receiving a B.A. from Radcliffe College, she attended Columbia University and earned her M.A. in 1952.
On a trip to France, she met and married Charles LeGuin and returned to the U.S. to teach at several universities. When the LeGuins settled in Portland, Oregon, in 1959, and with three children to care for, she began writing at night. Several published short stories brought her little success, until Rocannon╒s World, her first novel, was published in 1966╤the first of some thirty volumes of science fiction, fantasy, poetry, and essays, for which she would receive many distinguished awards.
The Left Hand of Darkness,1969, which told the story of an androgynous, warless people on an imaginary planet, won the prestigious Nebula and Hugo awards. Relying on both Taoist and Jungian thought, her Earthsea trilogy╤A Wizard of Earthsea, 1968, The Tombs of Atuan, 1971, and The Farthest Shore, 1972╤explored the nature of mythic journeys and the power of naming. In 1989, she published the widely acclaimed Dancing at the Edge of the World, a collection of essays, speeches, and musings, covering a range of topics from abortion to travel literature, to overpopulation.
