Almanac of Story Tellers: Margaret Atwood

Every day brings a new story.  And each day contributes to story telling -- in prose and in poetry, in art and in music, on the stage, on the screen, and, of course, in books. 

Today is the story of Nov. 18th

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    It is the 322nd day of the year, leaving 43 days remaining in 2022.

   

    On this date in 1939, the Canadian poet and novelist Margaret Atwood was born.

    She tells her stories from a feminist and humanist perspective. She deals with issues of gender, ecology and the environment, the excesses of science, and Canadian history and identity. Some of her works are based on the myths and legends of the past, while others portray a dystopian future because of the mistakes and indulgences of the present.

    Her poetry includes many of the same themes, particularly fairy tales, along with the power of language.

    She is a Canadian icon, and her works have been honored with some of the world's top literary prizes, including two Canadian Governor General's Awards, France's Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, two Booker Prizes, the Arthur C. Clarke Award for science fiction, and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.

    She began her writing career with a book of poetry, Double Persephone, self-published in 1960. A graduate of the University of Toronto and Radcliffe College, she also taught English literature at various universities in Canada. Her second book of poetry, The Circle Game, was published in 1966 and won the Governor General's Award.

    During the 1970s, she continued to write books of poetry, novels, and short-story collections. By the end of the decade she was becoming Canada's most talked about writer.

    In 1985, she published The Handmaid's Tale, often considered her magnum opus. It's a futuristic novel in which most women become unable to bear children, and the few who can become handmaidens to the powerful men who run the country. It's a dark, religiously intolerant society in which women are oppressed and used. (She wrote a sequel, The Testaments, in 2019.)

    Her other novels include Cat's Eye, Robber Bride, and The Blind Assassin, a work of historical fiction that focuses on two sisters, their literary lives, and their experiences in 20th Century Canada.

    In the 2000s, she wrote the MaddAddam Trilogy -- Oryx and Crake, The Year of the Flood, and Madd Addam -- a speculation on a future that arose because of excessive human consumption, scientific overreach, and corporate control. It includes the consequences of genetic manipulation,and disasters from man-made climate change.

    Atwood lives in Toronto and continues to write and publish fiction and poetry.