"A word after a word after a word is power." ~ Margaret Atwood
One Canada's most accomplished writers, Margaret Eleanor Atwood (1939-) was born on this day in Ottawa, Ontario and began to write at age five.
"When I started, nobody took Canadian writing seriously," she said. "It was assumed to be an oxymoron."
Best known for her fine writing with an emphasis on feminism and the role of women in the world, she once said: "If I were going to convert to any religion I would probably choose Catholicism because it at least has female saints and the Virgin Mary."
She followed her early collection of award-winning poetry, The Circle Game (1964) with her first novel, The Edible Woman (1969). With wit, passion, and vulnerability, she has created compelling prose distinguished by strong female characters.
"The answers you get from literature depend on the questions you pose," she said.
Her wonderful website, O.W. Toad, is an anagram of "Atwood" and appears on the copyright page of her novels and celebrates the notion that the toad hides a jewel in its forehead.
As a questioner and critic, she honors her craft of writing by capturing life with wit and irony. Her fans appreciate her keen observations and insights. Here's what she said about time: "You don't look back along time but down through it, like water. Sometimes this comes to the surface, sometimes that, sometimes nothing. Nothing goes away."
More Margaret ATWOOD Quotations
