Margaret Atwood (1262 words)
Margaret Atwood~MARGARET ATWOOD~
There is so much silence between the words…
SOCI 4019
September 29, 1999.
An Overview of Works, Styles, and Themes
Margaret Atwood has written a great number of novels and other forms of literature. The
major press editions are as follows:
~ WORKS~
Poetry
? 1964, The Cirle Game
? 1968, The Animals in That Country
? 1970, The Journals of Susanna Moodie
? 1970, Procedures for Underground
? 1971, Power Politics
? 1974, You are Happy
? 1978, Selected Poems
? 1978, Two-Headed Poems
? 1981, True Stories
? 1984, Interlunar
? 1987, Selected Poems II: Poems Selected and New, 1976-1986
? 1990, Selected Poems 1966-1975
? 1995, Morning in the Burned House
Short Fiction
? 1977, Dancing Girls
? 1983, Murder in the Dark
? 1983, Bluebeard’s Egg
? 1991, Wilderness Tips
? 1992, Good Bones
Novels
? 1969, The Edible Woman 1985, The Handmaid’s Tale
? 1972, Surfacing 1988, Cat’s Eye
? 1976, Lady Oracle 1993, The Robber Bride
? 1979, Life Before Man 1996, Alias Grace
? 1981, Bodily Harm
Children’s Books
? 1978, Up in the Tree
? 1980, Anna’s Pet
? 1990, For the Birds
? 1995, Princess Prunella and the Purple Peanut
Non-Fiction
? 1972, Survival: A Thematic Guide to Canadian Literature
? 1977, Days of the Rebels 1815-1840
? 1982, Second Words: Selected Critical Prose
? 1995, Strange Things: The Malevolent North in Canadian Literature
Edited
? 1982, The New Oxford Book of Canadian Verse in English
? 1986, The Oxford Book of Canadian Short Stories in English
? 1987, The Canlit Foodbook
? 1989, The Best American Short Stories
? 1995, The New Oxford Book of Canadian Short Stories in English
~ STYLE ~
Although many have used Margaret Atwoods style of writing poetry, not one has yet to
compete with her words. Typically, Margaret sticks to formal style of poetry, using
original text with separated stanzas. Margarets stlye of writing gives an overwhelming
effect to the reader; moreover, her style of writing adjusts to the theme of the particular
piece.
~ THEMES ~
The essential features of Atwood’s fictions and poetry has been described as a search for
a personal and national identity. Survival is a central theme throughout her works, as is
the quest for self unity.
Biography
Margaret Atwood was born in Ottawa, Ontario, on November 18, 1939. Because her
father was a forest entomologist, Atwood spent most of her childhood living in the
Canadian Wilderness. During the eight months of each year that her father did insect
research in the forest, the Atwood family lived in ?a cabin with a wood stove and several
kerosene lanterns. There were bears and wolves and moose and loons? ( qtd. in ?Author
Profile?).
While this lifestyle was exciting, she did not have most modern conviences and
technology. To entertain herself, Atwood read books. They became her only means for
entertainment and escape. ?I read them all, even when they weren’t supposed to be for
children? (qtd. in ?Author Profile?).
During this childhood of reading, Atwood also began to write. By the age of six,
ATwood was writing poems, morality plays, comic books, and an unfinished novel about
an ant. Ten years later, Atwood decided that she only wanted to write. She wanted to
live a double life; to go places she had not been before; to examine life on earth; to come
to know people in ways, and at depths, that were otherwise impossible; to be surprised;
and to give something of what she had received.
Two years after this life-altering decision, Atwood entered Victoria College at the
University of Toronto. She received her bachelor’s degree from Victoria College in
1961, and then went on to receive her Master’s degree from Radcliffe College in
Cambridge, Massachusetts. Atwood also received education from Harvard University in
Cambridge, Massachusetts, during 1962-63 and 1965-67.
Atwood began her career through self-publication. She sold these books for fifty cents
each. During this period, Atwood married Graeme Gibson, a fellow writer who was born
in London, Ontario, in 1934. Togehter, they have three grown children and two cats.
Although Atwood both grew up and resides presently in Canada, she ahs lived in
numerous cities throughout the world. The Canadian residences include Ottawa, Sault
Ste. Marie, Toronto, Montreal, Edmonton, Alliston, and Vancouver. In the United States,
Atwood has lived in Boston, Massachusetts, and in Alabama. She has also lived and
travelled in England, France, Italy , and Germany.
Geographical, Historical, Political and Social Influences
With respect to the fact that Atwood was raised, and spent most of her childhood in the
Canadian wilderness, it is safe to say that her geographical surroundings influenced her
in several ways. While residing in the wilderness of Canada, Atwood discovered her ture
passion – literature. Some say that if Atwood had not been in the wilderness, but rather
around the arising technology others were surrounded by, perhaps we would not have
such magical works in our presence today.
Although Atwood has struck upon many touchy subjects in literature, she has yet to be
significantly influenced by historical perspectives. She may look to her past for a
historical standpoint, or other significant women of the past; however, Atwood is known
well for her futuristic, and her ?in the now’ approach to writing.
As far as literature and internet resources today, it appears the Atwood was not influenced
in any means by a political outlook. The closest that one may come to assuming her
political influence would be in her 1979 novel, ?Life Before Man?.
For many individuals in todays society, it is quite hard to avoid being socially influenced
in everyday life; therefore, to believe that no one author is socially influenced in their
writing is simply unfathomable.
Awards, Critical and Reader Reviews
AWARDS
Margaret Atwood has received a great number of awards and honarary degrees:
1961, E.J. Pratt Medal
1965, President’s Metal, University of Western Ontario
1966, Governor Generals Award, Circle Game
1967, Centennial Commision Potry Competition, First
1969, Union Poetry Prize, Poetry ( Chicago)
1974, The Bess Hoskins Prize, Poetry (Chicago)
1977, The City of Toronto Book Award
1977, The Canadian Bookseller’s Association Award
1977, Periodical Distributors of Canada Short Fiction
1978, St.Lawrence Award for Fiction
1980, Radcliffe Graduate Medal
1981, Molson Award
1981, Guggenheim Fellowship
1981, Companion of the order of Canada
1982, Welsh Arts Council Internationl Writer’s Prize
1983, Periodical Distributors of Canada and the Foundation for The Advancement of
Canadian Letters Book of the Year Award
1986, Ida Nudel Humanitarian Award
1986, Toronto Arts Award
1986, Governor General’s Award, The Handmaids Tale
1986, Los Angeles Times Fiction Award
1986, Ms. Magazine, Woman of the Year
1987, Shortlisted for the Booker Prize (England)
1987, Shortlisted for the Ritz Hemingway Prize (Paris)
1987, Arthur C. Clarke Award for best Science Fiction
1987, Commonwealth Literary Prize, Regional Winner
1987, Council for Advancement and support of Education, Silver Medal, Best Article
of the Year
1987, Humanist of the Year Award
1987, Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada
1988, YWCA Women Distinction Award
1988, National Magazine Award for Environmental Journalism, First Prize
1988, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Foreign Honorary member,
Literature
(cont’…)
1989, Torgi Talking Book (CNIB), Cat’s Eye
1989, Foundation for the Advancement of Canadian Letters in conjuction with the
periodical Maketers’ of Canada Book of the Year, Cat’s Eye
1989, Shortlisted for the Booker Prize of the Year, Cat’s Eye, (England)
1990, Order of Ontario
1990, Centennial Medal, Harvard University
1992, Trillium Award for Excellence in Ontario Writing, Wilderness Tips
1992, John Hughes Prize, from the Welsh Development Board
1992, Book of the Year Award from the Periodical Marketers of Canada, Wilderness
Tips
1993, Canadian Authors’ Association Novel of the Year, The Robber Bride
1994, Commerative Medal for the 125th Anniversary of Canadian Confederation
1994, Trillium Award for Excellence in Ontario Writing, The Robber Bride
1994, Government of France’s Chevalier dans l’Ordre des Arts st des lettres
1994, Sunday Times Award for Literary Excellence, (London, UK)
1995, Swedish Humour Association’s Internatioinal Humerous Writer Award
1995, Best Local Author, NOW Magazine Readers’ Poll
1995, Trillium Award for EXcellence in Ontario Writing, Morning in the Burned
House
1996, Norwegian Order of Literary Merit
1996, Shortlisted for the Booker Prize, Alias Grace, (England)
1996, Best Local Author, NOW Magazine Readers’ Poll
1996, The Giller Prize; for Alias Grace
Biographies
