UKL on fantasy

[winterbadger]

thanks to brithistorian for the tipoff to this excellent speech by Ursula K. Le Guin on the nature of fantasy writing, especially for children and young adults. One of the best paragraphs reads:

Immature people crave and demand moral certainty: This is bad, this is good. Kids and adolescents struggle to find a sure moral foothold in this bewildering world; they long to feel they're on the winning side, or at least a member of the team. To them, heroic fantasy may offer a vision of moral clarity. Unfortunately, the pretended Battle Between (unquestioned) Good and (unexamined) Evil obscures instead of clarifying, serving as a mere excuse for violence—as brainless, useless, and base as aggressive war in the real world.

Comments

[robbysmom.livejournal.com]

ooh, thanks again. I am so glad I can vacation and get a bit up to date just by reading your blog (among others :-)