About the Author: Margaret Atwood

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                                                            About the Author: Margaret Atwood

Margaret Eleanor « Peggy » Atwood, a famous Canadian authoress, was born on November 18th, 1939, in Ottawa. Although having been born in Canada’s national capital, Atwood grew up constantly moving from one city to the next. Having been on the move for many of her childhood years, she was made familiar with Northern Ontario and the province of Quebec. Accompanying her father on his field trips to the Canadian Wilderness, she barely had time to go to school. As a matter of fact, she did not complete a full year of school until the eighth grade.  Always by her side were her parents, entomologist Carl Edmund and dietician Dorothy Killam.

Then, Atwood graduated from Victoria College in 1961, where she studied art and philosophy. The author then obtained a master’s degree from Radcliffe College of Harvard University. Atwood's studies stopped in 1967, allowing her to focus on her writing career. 

Furthermore, Margaret Atwood is a pioneer of “feminist criticism” in literature. All of Atwood’s books put women’s issues into the limelight and expose issues in our contemporary patriarchal society. Not only is she an incredibly important personality in the women’s rights cause, but she is also a very accomplished woman. Her books have been published in over 45 countries and in a wide variety of languages. Her most famous novel, The Handmaid’s Tale, earned itself a sequel and an award-winning television show adaptation as well. She has been a recurrent name in the Booker Prize, having been a finalist in 1989 with her novel Cat’s Eye and a winner in 2000 with Blind Assassin. She has been awarded the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade, the Frank Kafka International Literary Prize, the PEN Center USA Lifetime Achievement Award, and the Los Angeles Times Innovators Award. Additionally, Alias Grace, published in 1996, won both the Giller Prize in Canada and the Premio Modello in Italy. 

“Male fantasies, male fantasies, is everything run by male fantasies? Up on a pedestal or down on your knees, it's all a male fantasy: that you're strong enough to take what they dish out, or else too weak to do anything about it. Even pretending you aren't catering to male fantasies is a male fantasy: pretending you're unseen, pretending you have a life of your own, that you can wash your feet and comb your hair unconscious of the ever-present watcher peering through the keyhole, peering through the keyhole in your own head, if nowhere else. You are a woman with a man inside watching a woman. You are your own voyeur.”
― Margaret Atwood, The Robber Bride

In addition to writing, Margaret Atwood contributes to the Future Library Project. This organization collects original texts from famous authors. On a more personal note, she first married American novelist Jim Polk and later divorced in 1973. She quickly found love again in fellow author Graeme Gibson with which she had a daughter, Eleanor Jess Atwood Gibson in 1976. Her partner later died in 2019. Margaret is now 81 years old and currently holds many roles as founder of the Griffin Poetry Prize, founder of the Writer’s Trust of Canada, and Senior Fellow of Massey College in Toronto. 

Sources :

http://margaretatwood.ca/biography/

https://www.cbc.ca/archives/entry/margaret-atwood-a-precocious-and-creative-chi

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_Atwood

https://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/margaret-eleanor-atwood-2238.php

 

Commentaires

  1. Cindy.Chrisafoudis31 octobre 2021 à 11:22

    What a brilliantly-written blog post, Éva! It is complete and the information is pertinent. It is rich with vocabulary, varied sentence structures and verb tenses. Thank you for including your sources!

    Element to improve:
    - make sure your pronouns are clear (i.e. Your second paragraph only uses pronouns: She graduated from Victoria College.. she... her...)

    Keep up your excellent work!

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  2. Audrey Rose30 novembre 2021 à 16:39

    Margaret Atwood seems like a bright woman! You used an enriched vocabulary and your text is well structured. It is easy to read and aesthetically pretty! I also love the fact that you included a quote from the author in your blog. Good job Eva !

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