''The Wind's Twelve Quarters'' is a collection of short stories by American writer
Ursula K. Le Guin
Ursula Kroeber Le Guin (; October 21, 1929 – January 22, 2018) was an American author best known for her works of speculative fiction, including science fiction works set in her Hainish universe, and the '' Earthsea'' fantasy series. She was ...
, named after a line from
A. E. Housman
Alfred Edward Housman (; 26 March 1859 – 30 April 1936) was an English classical scholar and poet. After an initially poor performance while at university, he took employment as a clerk in London and established his academic reputation by pub ...
's ''
A Shropshire Lad''
and first published by
Harper & Row
Harper is an American publishing house, the flagship imprint of global publisher HarperCollins based in New York City.
History
J. & J. Harper (1817–1833)
James Harper and his brother John, printers by training, started their book publishin ...
in 1975.
Described by Le Guin as a retrospective,
it collects 17 previously published stories, four of which were the germ of novels she was to write later: "
The Word of Unbinding
"The Word of Unbinding" is a short story by American writer Ursula K. Le Guin, first published in the January 1964 issue of ''Fantastic'', and reprinted in collections such as ''The Wind's Twelve Quarters''. In this story, the Earthsea realm, which ...
" and "
The Rule of Names
"The Rule of Names" is a short story by American writer Ursula K. Le Guin, first published in the April 1964 issue of ''Fantastic'', and reprinted in collections such as ''The Wind's Twelve Quarters''. This story and " The Word of Unbinding" conv ...
" gave Le Guin the place that was to become
Earthsea
''The Earthsea Cycle'', also known as ''Earthsea'', is a series of high fantasy books written by the American writer Ursula K. Le Guin. Beginning with ''A Wizard of Earthsea'' (1968), '' The Tombs of Atuan'', (1970) and '' The Farthest Shore'' ...
;
"Semley's Necklace" was first published as "Dowry of the Angyar" in 1964 and then as the Prologue of the novel ''
Rocannon's World
''Rocannon's World'' is a science fiction novel by American writer Ursula K. Le Guin, her literary debut. It was published in 1966 as an Ace Double, along with Avram Davidson's ''The Kar-Chee Reign'', following the tête-bêche format. Though i ...
'' in 1966;
"
Winter's King" is about the inhabitants of the planet Winter, as is Le Guin's later novel ''
The Left Hand of Darkness
''The Left Hand of Darkness'' is a science fiction novel by U.S. writer Ursula K. Le Guin. Published in 1969, it became immensely popular, and established Le Guin's status as a major author of science fiction. The novel is set in the fiction ...
''.
Most of the other stories are also connected to Le Guin's novels.
The story "
The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas
"The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas" is a 1973 work of short philosophical fiction by American writer Ursula K. Le Guin. With deliberately both vague and vivid descriptions, the narrator depicts a summer festival in the utopian city of Omelas, ...
" won the
Hugo Award in 1974,
while "
The Day Before the Revolution" won the
Locus
Locus (plural loci) is Latin for "place". It may refer to:
Entertainment
* Locus (comics), a Marvel Comics mutant villainess, a member of the Mutant Liberation Front
* ''Locus'' (magazine), science fiction and fantasy magazine
** ''Locus Award' ...
and
Nebula Awards in 1975.
Contents
*Foreword
*"
Semley's Necklace"
*"April in Paris"
*"The Masters"
*"Darkness Box"
*"
The Word of Unbinding
"The Word of Unbinding" is a short story by American writer Ursula K. Le Guin, first published in the January 1964 issue of ''Fantastic'', and reprinted in collections such as ''The Wind's Twelve Quarters''. In this story, the Earthsea realm, which ...
"
*"
The Rule of Names
"The Rule of Names" is a short story by American writer Ursula K. Le Guin, first published in the April 1964 issue of ''Fantastic'', and reprinted in collections such as ''The Wind's Twelve Quarters''. This story and " The Word of Unbinding" conv ...
"
*"
Winter's King"
*"The Good Trip"
*"
Nine Lives"
*"Things"
*"A Trip to the Head"
*"
Vaster than Empires and More Slow
"Vaster than Empires and More Slow" is a science fiction story by American author Ursula K. Le Guin, first published in the collection '' New Dimensions 1'', edited by Robert Silverberg. It is set in the fictional Hainish universe, where Earth i ...
"
*"The Stars Below"
*"The Field of Vision"
*"Direction of the Road"
*"
The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas
"The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas" is a 1973 work of short philosophical fiction by American writer Ursula K. Le Guin. With deliberately both vague and vivid descriptions, the narrator depicts a summer festival in the utopian city of Omelas, ...
"
*"
The Day Before the Revolution"
See also
Classical compass winds
In the ancient Mediterranean world, the classical compass winds were names for the points of geographic direction and orientation, in association with the winds as conceived of by the ancient Greeks and Romans. Ancient wind roses typically had tw ...
- the phrase refers to the
Classical 12-point wind rose, not the later mariners' rose of 8, 16, or 32
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wind's Twelve Quarters, The
1975 short story collections
Fantasy short story collections
Short story collections by Ursula K. Le Guin
Earthsea short stories
Hainish Cycle
Harper & Row books