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Margaret Atwood

マーガレット・エレノア・アトウッド

Margaret Atwood

Pen Names: Bart Gerrard（Pseudonym used for some comics and satirical pieces）

Profile

Gender
Female
Born
1939-11-18 （Ottawa, Ontario, Canada）
Nationality
Canada
Languages
English
Residence History
Ottawa, Ontario (birthplace) → Toronto, Ontario, Canada → Pelee Island (summer home) → Farm near Alliston, Ontario (past residence)

Career

Occupations
novelist, poet, literary critic, inventor
Active Years
1961-
Affiliations
Griffin Poetry Prize (founder), Writers' Trust of Canada (founder), Massey College, Toronto (Senior Fellow)
Memberships
PEN Canada, Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, Foreign Honorary Member, American Academy of Arts and Sciences
Influenced By
Northrop Frye, Jay Macpherson
Influenced
Naomi Alderman and other contemporary writers, Writers in feminist criticism and dystopian fiction circles
Nominations
1986 Booker Prize (The Handmaid's Tale: shortlisted), 1996 Booker Prize (Alias Grace: shortlisted), 2003 Booker Prize (Oryx and Crake: shortlisted)

Education

Victoria College, University of Toronto
English (minors: philosophy and French)
Degree: BA (Honours)
Period: 1957–1961
Year of Graduation: 1961
Country: Canada
Published poems and articles in college literary journal
Radcliffe College, Harvard University
English (graduate studies)
Degree: MA
Period: 1961–1962（博士課程中途で中止）
Year of Graduation: 1962
Country: United States
Did not complete doctoral dissertation (The English Metaphysical Romance)

Awards

Booker Prize
2000
Work: The Blind Assassin
Organization: Booker Prize Foundation
Result: 受賞
Booker Prize
2019
Work: The Testaments
Organization: Booker Prize Foundation
Result: 共同受賞
Giller Prize
1996
Work: Alias Grace
Organization: Giller Prize
Result: 受賞
Governor General's Award
1966
Work: The Circle Game (poetry)
Organization: Canada Council for the Arts
Result: 受賞
Arthur C. Clarke Award
1987
Work: The Handmaid's Tale
Organization: Arthur C. Clarke Award
Result: 受賞
Franz Kafka Prize
2017
Organization: Franz Kafka Prize
Result: 受賞
Dan David Prize
2010
Organization: Dan David Foundation
Result: 受賞
Ivan Sandrof Lifetime Achievement Award
2016
Organization: National Book Critics Circle
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

The Handmaid's Tale

1985 Dystopian fiction / speculative fiction 311 pages

Set in a theocratic totalitarian state called Gilead that controls women's reproduction; told from the perspective of a Handmaid, exploring power, gender and bodily autonomy.

power and oppressionwomen's bodies and reproductionthe power of language
Adaptations
  • [TV series] The Handmaid's Tale (TV series) / Bruce Miller（テレビ化開発） (2017)
  • [Film] The Handmaid's Tale (film) / Volker Schlöndorff (1990)
Translations
  • Translated into many languages (including Japanese as 'The Handmaid's Tale')

The Blind Assassin

2000 Literary fiction / metafiction 448 pages

A layered novel interweaving family history, love and fiction-within-fiction to explore memory and storytelling.

memory and narrativelove and betrayalwomen's fate
Translations
  • Translated into multiple languages

Oryx and Crake

2003 Speculative fiction / post-apocalyptic 376 pages

Set in a future shaped by genetic engineering and corporate control; examines ethical issues of altering life and societal collapse (first of the MaddAddam trilogy).

genetic engineeringcorporate controlquestions of humanity

Alias Grace

1996 Historical fiction / mystery 352 pages

Based on a real 19th-century case; centers on the narrator's memories to question truth and narrative construction.

memory and trialgender and powerthe storytelling of history
Adaptations
  • [TV miniseries] Alias Grace (miniseries) / Mary Harron (2017)

The Testaments

2019 Dystopian fiction 432 pages

Sequel to The Handmaid's Tale, told by three female narrators; further explores Gilead and its aftermath.

resistance and testimonydeconstruction of power structuresfemale agency

Bibliography

  • The Edible Woman (1969)
  • Surfacing (1972)
  • The Handmaid's Tale (1985)
  • The Blind Assassin (2000)
  • Oryx and Crake (2003)
  • The Testaments (2019)

Adaptations

  • The Handmaid's Tale (TV series, 2017–)
  • Alias Grace (miniseries, 2017)
  • Surfacing (film, 1981)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
clear, observant prosereinterpretation of myth and folkloreessays and critical elements blended with fiction
Recurring Motifs
myth and fairy-tale motifsthe power of languagefemale identity and the bodyenvironment and climate change

Legacy

One of Canada's foremost writers; influential internationally for feminist perspectives and dystopian imagination. Recipient of numerous honors; works adapted across film, TV, opera and graphic novels.

Academic Societies

  • Writers' Trust of Canada
  • The Griffin Trust for Excellence in Poetry

Archives

  • University of Toronto archives and other institutional collections
  • Toronto Public Library special collections

In Popular Culture

  • The TV adaptation of The Handmaid's Tale popularized the red cloak and white bonnet as symbols in protests and political expression.
  • Stage, opera, comic and film/TV adaptations have given her broad cultural impact.

Quotes

  • A word after a word after a word is power.
    Source: Often quoted from speeches/interviews
  • Speculative fiction is about what could really happen.
    Source: Interview

Trivia

  • Inventor of the LongPen remote robotic writing technology and holder of related patents.
  • Identifies as a pescetarian.
  • Co-founder of the Griffin Poetry Prize and the Writers' Trust of Canada.
  • Many works have been adapted for TV, film, opera and graphic novels.