Full Speech: Ursula K. Le Guin’s Passionate Defense of Art over Profits

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  • Опубліковано 25 лип 2019
  • In 2014, when Ursula K. Le Guin accepted the National Book Foundation’s Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters, she used her acceptance speech to speak out about what she considered to be publishers’ increasing emphasis on profits over art. She said to the crowd, which consisted of the most powerful players in the publishing industry, "Books aren’t just commodities; the profit motive is often in conflict with the aims of art.” Her speech made a splash online in 2014, and now you can watch it in its entirety here. It’s a must-see.
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КОМЕНТАРІ • 49

  • @dillybar1992
    @dillybar1992 Рік тому +97

    This her words on the seemingly inescapable nature of capitalism should be playing on repeat on every medium available. A reminder to people that WE are the instruments of change. She was such a phenomenal author, human, and true patron of the arts.

    • @lexismore
      @lexismore 10 місяців тому +2

      Champion of the arts

    • @barsabe
      @barsabe 10 місяців тому +1

      We are not instruments, we are actors.

    • @dillybar1992
      @dillybar1992 10 місяців тому

      @@barsabe not if our intentions are genuine. That’s not an act. That’s intent.

    • @barsabe
      @barsabe 10 місяців тому

      @@dillybar1992 that's same as calling literature a lie. actors don't lie. someone can put up an act, but that's not the same. it's all semantics essentially, but literature is all about words, so here we are.

    • @dillybar1992
      @dillybar1992 10 місяців тому

      @@barsabe I never said actors were liars. In fact, actors and instruments are quite similar. They play parts in larger groups but can also convey ideas on their own.

  • @pamelanred5053
    @pamelanred5053 9 місяців тому +33

    Such a wise and insightful person. We need more artists like Ursula K Le Guin.

  • @Sol-0T-hn5ro
    @Sol-0T-hn5ro 6 місяців тому +13

    This woman is a universal treasure, uncompromising and a pure gem.

  • @randellcrouch
    @randellcrouch Рік тому +27

    God, she is just the best. Hero.

  • @Bargen
    @Bargen 4 роки тому +52

    Wonderful speech by this generous genius, wonderfully introduced by Mr. Gaiman. Thanks Ursula for giving us all those incredible worlds.

  • @kimhorton6109
    @kimhorton6109 7 місяців тому +9

    WI started reading with comics like GI Joe and Superman. I began reading books at eleven with Edgar Rice Burroughs. Science fiction was a big deal with Burroughs so space fiction, Heineken, Asimov were not far behind. Mrs Le Guinn was like a light going on. I try to read one of her books every year. Words comfort and inform. She was so above more than so many SF authors it raised me up when the church failed. Being a wordsmith is so important to all of us. Grace and knowledge are essential.

  • @gabrielapereira5311
    @gabrielapereira5311 2 роки тому +60

    10:25 any human power can be resisted and changed by human beings. Resistance and change often begin in art. Very often, in our art, the art of words

  • @MS-qc3rh
    @MS-qc3rh 3 місяці тому +3

    ‘Need writers that know the difference between producing a commodity and practicing an art.’ This can be said for every erstwhile profession that has been assimilated into the corrupt financial machine. Its power seems inescapable…

  • @nataliewilliams9741
    @nataliewilliams9741 4 роки тому +31

    She was a legend in her own time and she still is.

  • @drcwright
    @drcwright Рік тому +13

    Legend.

  • @jochanaan58
    @jochanaan58 3 місяці тому +1

    A flawless speech! Every word hits us right in our dark hearts where we dream of better worlds. I pray her prophecy comes true!

  • @TatianaBoshenka
    @TatianaBoshenka 7 місяців тому +5

    She kicks so much ass!

  • @TheTrueReiniat
    @TheTrueReiniat Рік тому +24

    she was right, and her worst dreams became true.

    • @sleepingdogpro
      @sleepingdogpro 10 місяців тому +17

      She’s also right about the resistance. Never forget that.

  • @VioCHEVALIER
    @VioCHEVALIER Рік тому +16

    the GOAT

  • @TexanWineAunt
    @TexanWineAunt 2 місяці тому +2

    Fucking legend, omg.

  • @DanielLopez-zt4ig
    @DanielLopez-zt4ig Рік тому

    Her son should watch this video.

  • @tessierashpoolmg7776
    @tessierashpoolmg7776 2 роки тому +79

    Great zinger for J.K. Rowling...😉🤣🤣🤣

  • @ramonanaya6236
    @ramonanaya6236 4 роки тому +19

    Is that Neil Gaiman???? ❤

  • @esa9848
    @esa9848 6 місяців тому +4

    goat

  • @myceliumman7554
    @myceliumman7554 Рік тому +7

    Remember freedom. Against all the forces arrayed against it, including the virtual mobs.

  • @whisperspinner7445
    @whisperspinner7445 7 місяців тому +2

    Why is it when I want to hear Ursula speak I keep finding videos where everyone talks instead of her. Fast forward to six minutes in if you want to hear her actually speak.

    • @Gruso57
      @Gruso57 7 днів тому

      Neil Gaiman gave her an incredible intro here. Not worth skipping

    • @whisperspinner7445
      @whisperspinner7445 7 днів тому

      Some viewers like me are already familiar with Ursula's amazing body of work and we don't need six minutes of an eleven minute video as intro.

  • @god0
    @god0 Рік тому +12

    What dreadful music between Neil Gaiman and Ursula K Gun. It rather spoiled the moment.

  • @JocinaKujna
    @JocinaKujna 5 років тому

    Thanks 🌴🍉 jocina Kujna 🍉🍉🍉🍉🍉🍉🍉🍉🍉🍉🍉🍉🍉

  • @Frisbieinstein
    @Frisbieinstein 9 місяців тому

    Bambi vs. Godzilla

  • @SD-de4do
    @SD-de4do 3 роки тому

    Disheartening awareness, comments, views.

  • @ravenhill_firelord_1968
    @ravenhill_firelord_1968 6 місяців тому +1

    Le Guin's writings are drenched in magic and paganism. To say that she was a witch and opposed to Christian Truth would be factual.

    • @BladedEdge
      @BladedEdge 4 місяці тому

      lol where do you psychos even come from

    • @gcloudsky3978
      @gcloudsky3978 3 місяці тому

      And this is why half of europe died in the black plague. Idiots, the lot of them. To be called a witch by a fanatic is a compliment of the highest calibre. Any revolutionary thinkers, scientists, dreamers, artists and writers will be deemed a witch, a pagan, demonic. Which says quite a bit about religion as a whole but that's another can of worms. The christian truth is just that, a christian truth. It is not a universal one, however much some christians would like it to be. And it could very well be true that her books stand in opposition to your truth but not mine, nor many others.

    • @bagpiper117
      @bagpiper117 9 днів тому

      hell yeah

  • @davidpo5517
    @davidpo5517 9 місяців тому

    That made no sense to anyone whose not an idealist.

    • @NunTheWiser
      @NunTheWiser 9 місяців тому +20

      it makes complete sense, you simply need to tear down the curtain of neo-liberalism that is clouding your view of everything

    • @pillmuncher67
      @pillmuncher67 7 місяців тому +9

      You're absolutely right! It really makes no sense to think another system could be possible, I mean, humanity has been around for what? Three hundred thousand years? That's practically nothing compared to the three hundred or so years that capitalism has existed.

    • @BladedEdge
      @BladedEdge 4 місяці тому +3

      I think op should try reading some more books, their imagination is pretty deficient.

  • @xgx899
    @xgx899 8 місяців тому +1

    Her books are more expensive than other work of SF. What a hypocrite: uses capitalism and then puts it down. But her writing is excellent.

    • @pillmuncher67
      @pillmuncher67 7 місяців тому +24

      It's not the authors who set the price, it's the publishers.
      And even if she did - she lived capitalism and was forced to play the capitalist game, as we all do. The alternative is starving t death.

    • @BladedEdge
      @BladedEdge 4 місяці тому

      Where do idiots like you even come from?

    • @gcloudsky3978
      @gcloudsky3978 3 місяці тому +5

      There's piracy. There are libraries. There's the internet. I'm a huge fan of her books and I read all of them for free.

    • @allisonmelton1921
      @allisonmelton1921 2 місяці тому +3

      As another commenter said, her publishers price her books. Could she have used the influence she had towards the end of her career to pressure the prices down? I don't know nearly enough about the publishing industry to answer to say for sure, but I doubt it. Even if she could have, she'd been dead for ~6 six years when you made your comment. The prices you see now have nothing to do with her. Some of her books are even being sold now as new editions that came out after her death. I agree her writing is excellent!