“Northwest Review,” the University’s tri-annual journal of literature, arts and culture, celebrated its 50th anniversary Thursday evening. The English department held an event honoring Ursula K. Le Guin, a science fiction writer who has had a long, distinguished history with the publication.
“Ursula is a contributing editor, adviser, wise woman, friend and champion of the magazine,” editor John Witte said.
Le Guin, who has lived in Oregon for nearly 50 years, is an award-winning writer. She has published 20 novels, more than a dozen short stories and several volumes of poetry.
The Northwest inspires both Le Guin and the publication for which she has contributed noted work.
Witte, who has been editor for the past 28 years, describes the magazine’s relationship with the Northwest as possessing a “regional bias rather than focus.”
“A magazine living to 50?” Le Guin questioned, speaking to the publication’s unusually long run. “It’s like a dog living to 50.”
The magazine’s success comes from its contribution to the region’s vibrant literature movement, said University English professor John Gage.
The 50th anniversary edition features poetry by Le Guin. Though often recognized for her science fiction novels, she has long practiced the craft of poetry.
“Who knows where poetry comes from?” Le Guin commented. “When you get enough of it, you publish a book.”
And she has written plenty of it. Le Guin describes her recently published book, titled “Incredible Good Fortune,” as “poems that came to me unbidden, unexpected and always in a woman’s voice.”
This free-spirited expression runs rampant throughout Le Guin’s work; she has an almost detached approach to the way she writes. When describing her decision to write a follow-up to “The Wizard of Earthsea,” she said that while writing the first book, she knew it contained the seeds for a sequel. “I was hinting to myself that there was a lot more story to tell.”
Her newest novel, “Lavinia,” which hits stores this spring, tells the story about the ancient Roman princess who learns to decide her own destiny, while Le Guin re-imagines historical fiction.
The Northwest, the theme for much of her literary prose, has had a strong influence on her writing. When discussing one of her classic novels, “The Tombs of Atuan,” she said after driving for a few days in the Eastern Oregon dusty high desert, she “knew a book was going to come out of this.”
Judging by the audience reaction at the event, readers are hungry for more of her vivid and personal style of writing.