Lyrical, Brief

Get This Woman Some Bongos, STAT

We have a feeling that Ursula Le Guin would've made a great beat poet, because her "Left-Handed Address," while being written in a simple and direct style, has a lyrical, almost sing-songy sound to it. If you're just reading it this may not be that obvious, but try reading a section out loud, and you'll find yourself getting into a definite rhythm as you go along.

For example, recite this one in your best "impassioned speaker" voice:

Our roots are in the dark; the earth is our country. Why did we look up for blessing – instead of around, and down? What hope we have lies there. Not in the sky full of orbiting spy-eyes and weaponry, but in the earth we have looked down upon. Not from above, but from below. Not in the light that blinds, but in the dark that nourishes, where human beings grow human souls. (69-74)

It's got a beat to it, doesn't it? Combine that tendency with the fact that her language, while simple, leans towards the metaphorical and vague, and you've got yourself a pretty awesome poem.

Bless This Speaker

If you've ever been to a graduation ceremony then you know that they tend to be—how can we say this nicely?—boring and long.

Sure, everyone's excited because they're moving on to something bigger and better, but if you're one of the people stuck sweating in a rented gown and square hat, the ceremony can feel like it's interminable. Enter the keynote speaker. Sometimes it's an alumni with funny anecdotes to share. Sometimes it's a politician with an agenda to softly lob at the audience. And sometimes you get really, really lucky, and you get a writer like Ursula Le Guin to give a brief but powerful speech.

And when we say brief, we mean brief. This thing only has seventy-four sentences in it. This is amazing, because she manages to get her point across succinctly and effectively without beating her audience over the head with it. That takes considerable skill, and we're sure the people who got to listen to her deliver this address that day felt incredibly inspired…and yet thankful that she didn't go on for too long.