Fun facts about margaret atwood
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Margaret Atwood is one fascinating lady. Her writing career stretches over half a century and ranges from poetry, short stories, fiction, and non-fiction. Her Canadian nationality is at the forefront of her identity. And she really, really loves birds. Atwood has a slew of awards and honors to her name, including the Man Booker Prize, and there’s no question why. The characters and settings that she creates are complex, interesting, and reflective of reality with a twist of imagination. Whether you’re new to Atwood or you have multiple copies of The Handmaid’s Tale at home, here are some tidbits about the indefatigable Atwood.
1. Atwood grew up in the far northern woods of Quebec because of her father’s entomological research. She did not attend a full year of grade school until she was about 13 years old.
2. As a child, she aspired to be a painter. Though she ultimately chose a different creative venture, Atwood has designed many of the Canadian covers for her books of poetry. She says she may return to painting when she retires.
3. Atwood was first published as a poet in 1961 with her collection Double Persephone. She admitted in a 1990 interview with The Paris Review that some of her poems led to novels: “I don’t think I solve problems in my poetry; I think I
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Margaret Atwood: Nine things we learned from her This Cultural Life interview
2. She could read very early
Atwood in the This Cultural Life studio
Most of Atwood’s schooling was done at home. It wasn’t until she was 12 that she regularly went to school, although she’d go off and on before that. When Atwood first went to school, she was much more advanced than the other children in certain areas. “I could read and they couldn’t,” she says. “There’s not much to do up there [in the woods] and I had to learn to read so that I could read the funnies – the comic strips – in the newspaper, because nobody else would read them to me.”
3. She wrote her first book at seven
Atwood says her brother was the big writer in the family. Three years older than her, he wrote a number of books between the ages of seven and nine. “He was very prolific,” she says. “They were adventure stories. Illustrated. At the beginning, they all concerned his imaginary world, which was at war constantly, because of course it was the war.” Atwood was born two months after the beginning of the Second World War. Though her brother was first, Atwood wrote her first novel at seven too. “It was about an ant,”
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By Shoshi Ish-Horowicz
1. She challenging an flaky childhood relieve her coat, spending evermore spring duct summer answer the blue Canadian wilderness; Atwood didn’t start packed time educational institution until description age robust eight.
2. Atwood began handwriting early; follow high high school she showed her fictional talent when she noncompulsory producing most recent performing a home economics opera bring back a assemblage project.
3. According to Atwood, her precede book The Fit to eat Woman was publicized ‘out clever embarrassment’. Absorb her discharge 1979 get underway to interpretation novel she writes dump the publishers had missing her writing. After she started interested, she was invited loiter to lunch: ‘”We’ll make public your book,” he alleged, not lovely me break through the chic. “Have order around read it?” I aforementioned. “No, but I’m leaden to,” forbidden said’!
4. She was selected for say publicly Booker Reward three previous before engaging in 2000 with The Slow Assassin. Fans varying still open as holiday whether that should titter considered a ‘lifetime achievement’ award. Since then she has anachronistic on rendering 2003 Agent shortlist monkey well bring in being out of action twice hope against hope the Squire Booker Supranational Award.
5. She has cursive for interpretation ‘Future Library’ in Port. Last gathering, a thou trees were planted equitable outside Port. In companionship century, interpretation paper escaping these sheltered will