Page 41 - BRIDGES - ISSUE 7

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Margaret Atwood
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Snowbird (CBC,1981), and pub-
Margaret Eleanor Atwood, lished another children’s book,
poet, novelist,critic (bom in Ot- Anna’s Pet (1980), adapted for
tawa18 Nov1939).Avaried and stage by the Mermaid Theatre
prolificwriter,Atwood isone of ‘ Mr. m (1986).
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Canada’s major contemporary m Always interested in civil
authors. She studied at Victo- ' - . rights, she was active over sev-
ria Coll,U of T,1957-61,where * * eral years in Amnesty Interna-
the influence of Jay . tional, and this activity had an
MacPherson and Northrop If impact on True Stories , a book
Frye directed her early poetry ' of poetry, and Bodily Harm , a
towards myth and archetype as /iv novel appearing in 1981.In both
exemplified by Double & ' ' - ife m worksshe "bearswitness," break-
Persephone (1961). ing down distinctionsshe herself
Her poetic reputation was makes between poetry (at the heart of her relationship
established whenTheCircle Game (1966) wasawarded the with language) and fiction (her moral vision of the world).
Gov Gen’s Award. In the1970s Atwood was involved with As president of PEN International’s Anglo-Canadian
nationalist cultural concerns as an editor of House of branch (1984-86),she continued her fight against literary
Anansi Press 1971-73 and as an editor and political car- censorship. Her collected criticism,Second Words (1982),
toonist forThis Magazine. contained some of the earliest feminist criticism written in
She published Survival: AThematic Guideto Canadian Canada.Her involvement with the revisedOxford Book of
Literature in 1972, the same year as Surfacing, a novel in
which thetechnology-natureconflict iscast in political terms, Canadian Poetry (1982),which she edited, marked her cen-
tral position amongCanadian poets of her generation which
Americans against Canadians. As in her other novels, the was enhanced byher publication ofMorning inthe Burned
Atwood protagonist goes through an archetypal retreat to
thewilderness,the irrational, before reintegrating intoso- House (1995) - her first book of new poetry in a decade.
Her eminence as a prose writer was confirmed in her
ciety. Continued critical success marked her publication of co-editingThe Oxford Book of Canadian Short Stories in
You are Happy (1974) which includes a reworking of The English (1986). Murder in the Dark (1983), experimental,
Odysseyfrom Circe’s perspective and her third novelLaJy post- modern prose poems and short fictions, excited criti-
Oracle (1976), a parody of fairy tales and gothic romances.
In these years Atwood also worked lesssuccessfully in new cal attention in new circles. She continued to alternate
genres, writing several TV scripts and screenplays. She prose with poetry, Interlunar (1984) and Selected Poems
II: Poems Selected & New, 1976-1986(1986). However, the
published a history, Days of the Rebels: 1815-1840 (1977) phenomenal international critical and popular successof
and short stories, Dancing Girls (1977) and Bluebeard’s The Handmaid’s Tale (1985)- Gov Gen Award, Los Ange-
Egg(1983).Two books followed in 1978:Two-Headed Po-
ems, which continued to explore the duplicity of language, les Times Prize, runner-up Booker Prize and Ritz-Paris-
and Up in the Tree , a children’s book, which introduced Hemingway Prize - a dystopia set in a right- wing
Atwood the artist .Life Before Man (1979) isa more tradi- monotheocracy located in a nuclear wasteland once known
tional novel than most of her fiction, developing a series of as Boston, which practises censorship and state control of
reproduction, has won Atwood greater renown as a novel-
love triangles through exposition rather than image. Re-
cent books include the novelCat’sEye (1988),a children’s ist. Her international readership has been swelled by audi-
book,For the Birds (1990), and two volumes of short fic- ences and students of her many readings, creative writing
and Canadian studies courses in such varied places as the
tion, Wilderness Tips (1991) and Good Bones (1992). In
1993Atwood publishedThe RobberBride ,one of her most universities of Alabama,New York and Berlin.
1987 brought successes in new literary ventures, the
extraordinary and intricate novels yet, which was co-win- script forRoad to Heaven , a film about the Barnardochil-
ner of Ontario’s Trillium Book Award and won the City of dren in Canada,and TheFestivalof Missed Crass,a fantas-
Toronto Award. tic and satiric children’s story transformed into a musical
In 1980 Atwood became vice-chairman of the WRIT- for the Young People’s Theatre.
ERS’UNION OFCANADA.She worked onaTV drama,

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