By the author of THE HANDMAID'S TALE and ALIAS GRACEWhat is the role of the writer Prophet High Priest of Art Court Jester Or witness to the real world Looking back on her own childhood and the development of her writing career,Margaret Atwood examines the metaphors which writers of fiction and poetry have used to explain - or excuse! - their activities,looking at what costumes they have seen fit to assume,what roles they have chosen to play. In her final chapter she takes up the challenge of the book's title: if a writer is to be seen as'gifted',who is doing the giving and what are the terms of the giftMargaret Atwood's wide and eclectic reference to other writers,living and dead,is balanced by anecdotes from her own experiences as a writer,both in Canada and on the international scene. The lightness of her touch is underlined by a seriousness about the purpose and the pleasures of writing,and by a deep familiarity with the myths and traditions of western literature.Praise for On Writers and Writing: '...a streetwise,erudite suggestive enquiry into problems and myths of the writer's role. Her light touch on hard thoughts,her humour and eclectic quotations,lend enchantment to an argument that has as many undulating tentacles as a well developed sea anemone'-INDEPENDENT'Her witty,occasionally self-deprecating and always ingenious approach is a delight'-SUNDAY TIMES'A witty and profound rumination about writing'-THE TIMES
Publisher: Little,Brown Book GroupISBN: 9780349006239Number of pages: 224Weight: 192 gDimensions: 197 x 134 x 18 mm
MEDIA REVIEWS
Atwood's wonderful collection of lectures isn't so much advice on how to write as it is a series of ruminations on the deeper problems and joys of being a writer,such as what moral debt we may owe the reader. She calls on past great writers like helpful friends for their adivce
As one of literature's luminaries,surely Margaret Atwood possesses a magical secret we can truffle out It's an absorbing book,which you read with pleasure and benefit...'On Writers and Writing,'is frequently hilarious
Juggling well worn subjects which "get murky or pretentious",this is a streetwise,erudite suggestive enquiry into problems and myths of the writer's role. Her light touch on hard thoughts,her humour and eclectic quotations,lend enchantment to an argument that has as many undulating tentacles as a well developed sea anemoneHer witty,occasionally self-depracating and always ingenious approach is a delightA witty and profound rumination about writingA playful,informed and briskly sensible discussion of the writing life'an absorbing book,which you read with pleasure and benefit... the sense of an agile mind revolving sophisticated ideas'Margaret Atwood
Widely regarded as one of the world's leading writers,Margaret Atwood is an author,essayist,poet and activist whose inventive and diverse literary output ranges widely and deeply from feminist classics such as The Handmaid's Taleto complex blends of Science Fiction and reality such as her Man Booker Prize winning novel The Blind Assassin and chilling dystopian visions like Oryx and Crake.
Visit the Margaret Atwood author page
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