Margaret Atwood

“A word after a word after a word is power.”

— Margaret Atwood

Life & Background:

Born in 1939 in Ottawa, Canada, Margaret Atwood spent much of her early life in the wilderness of northern Quebec, which shaped her imagination and concern with nature. A prolific and genre-fluid writer, she has written poetry, literary fiction, science fiction, essays, and criticism. Atwood is one of the most recognizable feminist writers of the 20th and 21st centuries and has remained culturally and politically engaged throughout her career.

Inspirations:

Atwood borrows from mythology, folklore, biblical narratives, dystopian literature, history, and feminism. Writers like George Orwell, Mary Shelley, and the Brontë sisters have influenced her, as have environmental and political events worldwide.

Themes in Her Work:

• Feminism and gender politics: Atwood explores power dynamics between men and women in both realistic and speculative settings.

• Dystopia and surveillance: Her visions of the future often reflect existing societal tendencies pushed to terrifying extremes.

• Ecology and survival: Many of her works explore humanity’s relationship with the environment, often through apocalyptic or speculative lenses.

• Storytelling and agency: She frequently reclaims silenced or marginalized voices, reframing canonical stories from new perspectives.

• Identity and resistance: Her characters often rebel within repressive systems.

Notable Works:

• The Handmaid’s Tale (1985)

• The Testaments (2019)

• Oryx and Crake (2003) / MaddAddam Trilogy

• Alias Grace (1996)

• The Penelopiad (2005)