• Dancing at the Edge of the World

  • Thoughts on Words, Women, Places
  • By: Ursula K. Le Guin
  • Narrated by: Gabrielle de Cuir
  • Length: 14 hrs and 27 mins
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (93 ratings)

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Dancing at the Edge of the World  By  cover art

Dancing at the Edge of the World

By: Ursula K. Le Guin
Narrated by: Gabrielle de Cuir
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Publisher's summary

From modern literature to menopause, from utopian thought to rodeos - in this classic collection of essays, Ursula K. Le Guin roves with her customary audacity over the intersecting arenas of literature, feminism, and social responsibility, exploding any received notions she comes across and revealing visionary possibilities in their stead.

Le Guin is an authentic, wise woman, remembering, performing, and passing on the ancient ceremony of celebration, dancing "the dance of renewal, the dance that made the world" - and in this collection, she does so with wit and eloquence that make for exhilarating listening.

©1989 Ursula K. Le Guin (P)2019 Blackstone Publishing

What listeners say about Dancing at the Edge of the World

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    4 out of 5 stars

Not my favorite Le Guin collection, but...

still worth a listen/read. I guess I never really knew what a staunch feminist she was. I'm glad to know that now. I liked nearly all of the essays and entries except for the stream of consciousness travel logs. I'm not sure if it was the text per say or the narration.

I finally figured out why the narration bothered me, too, de Cuir sounds too much like my mother-in-law! haha. But in all seriousness, her voice was grating in places, particularly the stream of consciousness travel logs. But overall it was a good listen.

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5 people found this helpful

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Le Guin Has Fun w Philosophic Principles East & W

This is a collection of Le Guin's scholastic musings which are strongly feminist and Taoist. Fun stuff!

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Thoughts of a great mind

A sensitively read anthology of essays over several decades. Of interest to anyone who enjoyed her novels or other works.

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amazing mind, great reading

Ursula Le Guin's genius mind and voice are exquisitel as experienced with this narration by Gabrielle de Cuir.

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a generous and beautiful book

Ursula K. Le Guin’s writing is poignant and precise, honest and essential to anyone interested in literature, feminism and life in our modern world. Her essays are so beautiful, as they stand on the shoulders of literary mothers and grandmothers, lending themselves as a cornerstone from which nee generations might view the world’s beauty and cruelty, without simplifying out condition.

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  • Custard
  • 11-17-21

Pronunciation please!

Why ruin a good book by not bothering to check how names are pronounced? The Welsh names, in particular, are very straightforward. Getting them so transcendentally wrong makes the work unlistenable to. Do better, Audible.

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  • Amazon Customer
  • 04-10-22

Wow

This is a great listen. The narrator does a superb job in bringing the material to life. Le Guin’s work is engaging even today - for any thoughtful reader. A collection of essays is not something I would ordinarily listen to but I’m glad I gave this a go.

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  • c huntbach
  • 03-01-22

Le Guin is awesome and precient.

I've revisited several of the essays (at first reading) it's full of ideas, many of which are vital (40 years later). She writes of narrative, fiction, language, inequalities, friendship and animal cruelties. She enriches urgent and vital content with wit, thoughtful, beautiful prose and empathy.

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  • Anonymous User
  • 04-21-23

When it comes…

…to opinions about writing, women and books in general, we can argue if do we agree with other peoples subjectivity or not. When it comes to Le Guin, all I can say is this:
“Dear Ursula, please come back.”

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  • r
  • 02-16-23

Le Guin at her best

Great collection of essays, with the perfect narrator for the job. The content does start repeating here and there, but that is understandable. It's a wonder to be able to follow Le Guin's thinking in audio form, especially in the "performance" pieces.

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