If Portland, Oregon ever wanted something like an idol it would have elected Ursula LeGuin. Never mind that she would have been the first to scoff at such a notion. The author’s death last year caused true grieving across the city, not just the “let’s write clever obits for a celebrity” kind, but the “find yourself crying spontaneously” kind.

And then there were terrific reminiscences: http://www.orartswatch.org/a-lioness-of-the-mind/#more-59051

I photographed the street where she lived on a walk yesterday – picking views that in my imagination would have perhaps given her inspiration for the next quip. She was known not just for her breadth of writing, from science fiction to poetry, but also for her barbed wit.

Independent of LeGuin’s prolific literary output and her political activism, she did much for the community in other ways, and, as it turns out, for individuals as well. I was reminded of that by a singular case of reminiscence by a young writer who found her footing through LeGuin’s advice.

As a young, misfit college student’s Alison Smith spent a week as driver and guide to LeGuin during the latter’s visit in Rochester, NY. She was empowered by LeGuin’s books, politics and, importantly, her personal advice. She went on to be a fine writer in her own right, evidence of which can be seen in this moving essay, attached below:

https://granta.com/her-left-hand-the-darkness///

Encounters matter. Encounters with role models matter. Encounters with role models who don’t look down but lift you up matter.

See, not everything is bleak, even though I have been writing about a few depressing issues this week (why should this week be different from any other…) With guarded optimism, I am particularly thrilled to add Katha Pollitt’s assessment of women’s increasing defiance in her latest bit on likability politics: https://www.thenation.com/article/aoc-tlaib-warren-womens-march/

She talks about the new crop of female politicians who refuse to be cowed.

LeGuin wrote in The Wave in the Mind : “All of us have to learn how to invent our lives, make them up, imagine them. We need to be taught these skills; we need guides to show us how. If we don’t, our lives get made up for us by other people.” She clearly modeled for many of us how to do that, and the young female politicians around us are now modeling defiance for the next generations.

There is hope! Let’s toast to that and strong role models in general!

For music it shall be Carmen for the simple reason that Florence’s Opera House, to focus attention on violence against women, decided to rewrite the ending last year so that Carmen was no longer a victim of Don José but took her fate inherited own hands https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/01/02/italy-gives-world-famous-opera-carmen-defiant-new-ending-stand/ 

Spoiler alert: the opera world was NOT happy. But here is the ultimate Carmen, singing about love as a rebellious bird – as shall be women!

To get an in depth view of Thurman St through the eyes of my esteemed colleague Roger Dormand with LeGuin’s text, go here:

http://www.newsagepress.com/bluemoon.html

Here are some miscellaneous Thurman St items that wanted documentation: