The incredible love story of two Fulbright France Alumni (1953/54) : Ursula Kroeber Le Guin & Charles Le Guin
On the occasion of Valentine's Day, discover the incredible love story of two FulbrightFrance Alumni (1953/54): Ursula Kroeber Le Guin & Charles Le Guin.
Ursula (American) & Charles (American of French origin) met in the fall of 1953, on the first evening of their boat trip from New York to Southhampton, while traveling to France with the Fulbright Program to carry out research as part of their doctoral theses. The boat was the Queen Mary, recently re-commissioned from a troop ship.
All the Fulbright students dined together, and, after dinner, Charles asked (in a soft Southern accent) if anyone would like another drink: only Ursula responded favorably, and they fell in love.
Ursula initially studied in Aix-en-Provence, but after two or three months, she gave a (fragile) academic reason in order to transfer to Paris, to be near Charles.
Ursula and Charles were married in Paris before the end of 1953.
Prior to her Fulbright experience in France, Ursula K. Le Guin studied at Radcliffe College of Harvard University and Columbia University in New York, where she studied French poetry of the Middle Ages; after her Fulbright mobility in France, Ursula became a famous science fiction and fantasy writer in the 1960s, winning numerous literary prizes.
Charles had studied the history of the French Revolution at Emory University; after Fulbright, he became Professor Emeritus of History at Portland State University, where he taught for over thirty-five years.
© Credits: Images courtesy and copyright Ursula K. Le Guin Literary Trusts
