Margaret Atwood

Margaret Atwood
Atwood in 2022
Born	Margaret Eleanor Atwood (1939-11-18) November 18, 1939 Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Occupation	Writer
Education	University of Toronto (BA) * Radcliffe College (MA)
Period	1961–present
Genre	Historical fiction speculative fiction climate fiction dystopian fiction
Spouse	Jim Polk ​ ​ (m. 1968; div. 1973)​
Partner	Graeme Gibson (1973–2019; his death)
Children	1

Biography

Margaret Atwood is a Canadian author, poet, and literary critic whose work spans fiction, poetry, and essays, often exploring themes of gender, power, identity, and the environment. Born on November 18, 1939, in Ottawa, Ontario, she spent much of her childhood in the wilderness of northern Quebec due to her father’s work as an entomologist. This early exposure to nature greatly influenced her writing.

Atwood studied at the University of Toronto and went on to earn a master's degree from Radcliffe College at Harvard University. She began her literary career as a poet in the 1960s, but it was her novels that brought her international acclaim. Her breakthrough came with The Edible Woman (1969), a sharp critique of consumer culture and gender roles.

Her most famous work, The Handmaid’s Tale (1985), is a dystopian novel that imagines a totalitarian theocracy in which women are stripped of all rights. The book became a global phenomenon, particularly resonant in feminist discourse, and was adapted into an Emmy-winning television series. A sequel, The Testaments, was published in 2019 and won the Booker Prize.

Atwood has published more than 50 books, including Cat’s Eye, Alias Grace, Oryx and Crake, and The Blind Assassin - the latter also a Booker Prize winner. Her speculative fiction often merges science fiction elements with pressing social and environmental issues.

In addition to her writing, Atwood is a prominent public intellectual, environmental activist, and advocate for freedom of expression. She co-founded the Writers' Trust of Canada and is a vocal supporter of literacy and human rights causes.

Respected worldwide, Margaret Atwood’s influence extends far beyond literature. Her work challenges readers to confront uncomfortable truths about society, and her legacy continues to grow with each generation of readers and thinkers.

Music (likes)

BBC's Desert Island Discs (2003)

• The Great Pretender - The Platters
• Symphony No. 6 in F major 'Pastoral' – 5th movement (Shepherds' Song) - Ludwig van Beethoven
• Là ci darem la mano (from Don Giovanni) - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
• Mary Hamilton - Cynthia Gooding
• Goldberg Variations – Aria - Johann Sebastian Bach
• Alabama Song - Lotte Lenya
• Here Comes The Night - Van Morrison with Them
• Talk to Me of Mendocino - Kate & Anna McGarrigle

Literature (likes)

Miscellaneous

• The Arabian Nights

Miscellaneous (likes)

Miscellaneous

• Culpepers Rose Geranium bath salts