A person who 'cares' what words mean

 “A writer is a person who cares what words mean, what they say, how they say it. Writers know words are their way towards truth and freedom, and so they use them with care, with thought, with fear, with delight.  By using words well they strengthen their souls.” – Ursula K. Le Guin

An “October baby,” Le Guin celebrates her 88^th birthday this month at her home in Portland, Ore. First published in the 1960s, Le Guin has often depicted futuristic or imaginary alternative worlds in politics, the natural environment, gender, religion, sexuality and ethnography. 

Her writing has influenced such Booker Prize winners and other writers as Salman Rushdie and David Mitchell – and notable science fiction and fantasy writers like Neil Gaiman and Iain Banks.   She has won the Hugo Award, Nebula Award, Locus Award, and World Fantasy Award, each more than once.                 In 2014, she was awarded the National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters. 
          

In 2016, The New York Times described her as "America's greatest living science fiction writer,” although she has said she would prefer to be known simply as "American novelist.”

“I don't write tracts, I write novels. I'm not a preacher, I'm a fiction writer,” Le Guin said.  “I get a lot of moral guidance from reading novels, so I guess I expect my novels to offer some moral guidance, but they're not blueprints for action, ever.”

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