Margaret Atwood Canadian writer Date of Birth: 18.11.1939 Country: Canada

1. Biography of Margaret Atwood
2. Early Life and Education
3. Writing Career and Personal Life
4. Later Years and Legacy

Biography of Margaret Atwood

Born on November 18, 1939, in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, Margaret Atwood is a Canadian writer known to Russian readers for her books such as "Oryx and Crake," "The Blind Assassin," "The Edible Woman," "The Handmaid's Tale," and "Year of the Flood."

Early Life and Education

Margaret Atwood is the second of three children born to Margaret, a dietitian, and Carl, an entomologist. Due to her father's research in the field of forest entomology, Atwood spent most of her childhood in the rural areas of Quebec and explored Ottawa, Sault Ste. Marie, and Toronto. Atwood developed a love for books at a young age and read numerous pocket detective novels from Dell Publishing, comics, Grimm's fairy tales, and stories by Canadian animal authors. She started writing at the age of six. Although Atwood attended school only sporadically, she completed the entire curriculum starting from the eighth grade. She received her high school education in 1957.

At the age of 16, Atwood realized her passion for writing and enrolled at Victoria College, University of Toronto. During her time there, she published her poems and articles in the literary journal "Acta Victoriana." In addition to studying English literature, Atwood also studied philosophy and French. In 1961, she obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree.

Writing Career and Personal Life

After being awarded the E.J. Pratt Medal for her poetry collection "Double Persephone," Atwood pursued a master's degree at Radcliffe College in 1962. She then spent two years working on her dissertation titled "The English Metaphysical Romance." Throughout her career, she taught at the University of British Columbia, the University of Alberta, York University, and the University of Alabama.

In 1968, Margaret Atwood married Jim Polk, but they divorced in 1973. She then began a relationship with another novelist, Graeme Gibson, and they moved to a farm near Alliston, Ontario. In 1976, their daughter Eleanor Jess Atwood Gibson was born. The family returned to Toronto in 1980.

Atwood's dark novel "The Handmaid's Tale" received the Arthur C. Clarke Award in 1987. However, the author disagreed with categorizing this novel, as well as her book "Oryx and Crake," as science fiction. She suggested using the term speculative fiction, mentioning that "Oryx and Crake" does not include intergalactic flights, teleportation, or Martians. Atwood's statement, describing science fiction as "talking squids in space," angered and irritated fans of the genre.

In 2000, Atwood received the Booker Prize for her novel "The Blind Assassin." She is considered a supporter of left-wing ideas in the political world, but she refers to herself as a "red Tory" in a historical sense. She is a member of the Green Party of Canada and a strong supporter of its leader, Elizabeth May.

Later Years and Legacy

From February 2013, Atwood expressed her strong opposition to the use of synthetic turf at the University of Toronto through Twitter messages. She even hinted that she would exclude the university from her will if synthetic turf was approved. Atwood is also involved in artist Katie Paterson's Future Library project, where a significant contemporary writer donates a manuscript that will remain unread until the year 2114. She became the first author to join the project in May 2015, donating the manuscript "Scribbler Moon."