Margaret Atwood
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3598. Murder in the Dark. [Electronic resource]. Toronto: CNIB, 2004. Computer data (74 files: 92.1 mb). Audio and text.
3599. “My First Book.” The Times (London) 11 December 2004: Section: Features: Weekend Review: 8. Atwood, along with Antony Beevor and Ian Rankin, reflect on publishing their first books; in Atwood’s case, Double Persephone.
3600. “On Writing Poetry.” Word: On Being a [Woman] Writer. Ed. Jocelyn Burrell. New York: Feminist Press, 2004. 138-147. Originally delivered as a lecture in Hay on Wye, Wales. (1995). Autobiographical.
3601. Oryks i derkacz. Poznan: Zyski S-ka, 2004. Polish translation of Oryx and Crake by Malgorzata Hesko-Kolodzinska.
3602. Oryx and Crake. Charlesbourg, QU: Braille Jymico Inc., 2004. Braille ed., 8 v.
3603. Oryx and Crake. Toronto: Seal; London: Virago, 2004.
3604. Oryx and Crake. Leicester [UK]: Charnwood, 2004 ©2003. Large print edition.
3605. Oryx and Crake. [Electronic resource]. Toronto: CNIB, 2004. Computer data (169 files: 611 mb). Audio and text.
3606. Oryx and Crake. [Sound recording]. Toronto: CNIB, 2004. 2 cassettes (11 hr., 9 min.).
3607. Oryx and Crake: A Novel. New York: Anchor Books, 2004.
3608. Oryx e Crake. Rio de Janeiro: Editora Rocco, 2004. Portuguese translation by Léa Viveiros de Castro.
3609. Oryx y Crake. Barcelona: Ediciones B, 2004. Spanish translation by Juanjo Estrella.
3610. “Reading Blind.” The Story and Its Writer [CD-ROM]. Ann Charters. Princeton, NJ: Recording for the Blind & Dyslexic, 2004. A commentary by Atwood on the practice and theory of writing short fiction. Originally published: Boston: St. Martin’s, 2003 (6th ed.). Distribution is restricted to RFB&D members who have a documented print disability such as visual impairment, learning disability or other physical disability. (Since 1995, RFB&D = Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic.)
3611. Resurgir. Madrid: Alianza Editorial, 2004. Spanish translation of Surfacing by Gabriela Bustelo.
3612. Rude Ramsay and the Roaring Radishes. New York: Bloomsbury Children’s Books, 2004. “Atwood offers a deliciously ridiculous tale about the virtues of resisting restrictions. Rude Ramsay has reached the end of his rope! Sick of eating rock-hard rice, wrinkled ravioli, and raw rhinoceros, Ramsay and Ralph the red-nosed rat resolve to leave their rectangular residence in a quest for more refreshing repast and to prove that the grass really is greener on the other side of the fence. With lots of ‘r’s’ to help the story roll along, Margaret Atwood’s rollicking text, combined with Dusan Petricic’s lively art, make this book a real treat for Margaret Atwood fans, old and new.” (Publisher).
3613. “Siren Song.” Prentice Hall Literature: Timeless Voices, Timeless Themes. [Sound recording]. Princeton, NJ: Recording for the Blind & Dyslexic, 2004. Sound disc originally published: Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Pearson, 2003. Distribution restricted to RFB&D members.
3614. Slepoi Ubiitsa. Moscow: Eksmo, 2004. Russian translation of The Blind Assassin by V. Bernatskoi.
3615. Strange Things: The Malevolent North in Canadian Literature. London: Virago, 2004. Originally published in 1995 by Oxford UP.
3616. Survival: A Thematic Guide to Canadian Literature. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 2004. Reprint of 1972 edition.
3617. “Three Novels I Won’t Write Soon.” The Times (London) 18 December 2004: Section: Features: 10. Novels include Worm Zero, Spongedeath, and Beetleplunge. (1169 w).
3618. “To Beechy Island.” Solo: Writers on Pilgrimage. Ed. Katherine Govier. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1994. [201]-216. Arctic journey.
3619. “Uncovered: An American Iliad.” The Times (London) 28 February 2004: Section: Features: 10. Review of the 3-volume series, Masterworks of the Classical Haida Mythtellers: v.1: A Story as Sharp as a Knife: The Classical Haida Mythtellers and Their World by Robert Bringhurst (Vancouver, BC: Douglas & McIntyre, 1999); v.2: Nine Visits to the Mythworld by Gandl and Robert Bringhurst (Vancouver, BC: Douglas & McIntyre, 2002); v.3: Being in Being: The Collected Works of Skaay of the Qquuna Qiighawaay by Skaay and Robert Bringhurst (Vancouver, BC: Douglas & McIntyre, 2001). (1867 w).
3620. Writing Oryx and Crake and The Handmaid’s Tale. [Toronto]: Canadian Opera Company, 2004. Booklet distributed by COC on occasion of its production of The Handmaid’s Tale, 23,26,29 September and 1,5,9 October 2004, at the Hummingbird Centre for the Performing Arts, Toronto.
3621. Wynurzenie. Poznan: Zyski S-ka, 2004. Polish translation of Surfacing by Jolanta Plakwicz and Teresa Poniatowska.
3622. Yu Si Zhe Xie Shang: Ma Ge Li Te. Ai Te Wu Tan Xie Zuo. Taipei: Mai tian chu ban: Cheng bang wen hua fa hang, 2004. Chinese translation of Negotiating with the Dead: A Writer on Writing by Ai wu de. Title romanized.
Adaptations of Atwood’s Works
3623. “Frankenstein Monster Song.” As Smart as We Are. One Ring Zero. Brooklyn: Soft Skull Press [2004]. Track 9. Atwood poem set to music and recorded by One Ring Zero.
3624. VORES, Andy et al. Six Songs on Poems of Margaret Atwood / American Folk Songs [Book 1] / The Little Box [CD-ROM]. s.l.: s.n., 2004. CD is 66 minutes; Atwood section, 28:28. Source: WorldCat.
Quotations
3625. “[Quote].” The Advertiser 9 September 2004: Section: Opinion: 19. “We still think of a powerful man as a born leader and a powerful woman as an anomaly.” In an article by Marty Smith.
3626. “[Quote].” The Guardian (London) 29 December 2004: 9. Atwood on death of Susan Sontag: “She was a unique and courageous woman. Even if you didn’t agree with her, she was always courageous and always a unique thinker. She always made you think. What made her unique? She wasn’t like anyone else....Whatever she set her mind to—whatever she’d come up with—it wasn’t going to be the received opinion. She ran received opinion through the shredder and looked at things again. She was a grown-up emperor’s-new-clothes child. When kids say the emperor’s naked, you tell them they shouldn’t say those things in public. When adults say it, they get in a lot of trouble—and she didn’t mind getting into trouble.”
3627. “[Quote].” Ottawa Citizen 11 April 2004: C2. In an article by Janice Kennedy about Toronto, Atwood is quoted as saying that it is “the city that really justifies the country.”
3628. “[Quote].” School Libraries in Canada 23.4 (2004): 37. In article entitled “Inspiring Quotes about the Importance of Libraries in Society,” Atwood is quoted: “A word after a word after a word is power.” (From True Stories).
3629. “[Quote].” The Tennessean 28 July 2004: 7M. “A divorce is like an amputation. You survive it, but there’s less of you.” Atwood quoted by Henry Piarrot in story about a teacher turned divorce-mediator.
3630. “[Quote].” Toronto Star 25 July 2004: Section: News: A09. Atwood is quoted in article by Olivia Ward on evolution’s next stage: “‘The argument for the perfectibility of mankind rests on a logical fallacy,’ writes Margaret Atwood in the New York Review of Books. ‘Thus man is by definition imperfect, say those who would perfect him. But those who would perfect him are themselves, by their own definition, imperfect. And imperfect beings cannot make perfect decisions. If we can extend life by 30 years, we’ll have done more or less all we need to do.’”
3631. “[Quote].” Toronto Sun 13 August 2004: Section: Lifestyle: 59. “The Eskimos had 52 names for snow because it is important to them; there ought to be as many for love.”
Interviews
3632. “Atwood’s Latest Alliteration-Filled Children’s Book.” Canada AM 29 November 2004. Available from Lexis-Nexis. An interview with Seamus O’Regan about her “sixth” book for children written on the train to Windsor, “which lasts about three hours. So you can see. But then of course you polish them up afterwards. They’re not very long.” Atwood admitted she didn’t have a dictionary on the trip “but I augmented my story afterwards.” In the interview Atwood also discussed her upcoming collection of essays (Moving Targets), her second collection, after Second Words, published in 1982. “I probably do about 20
of them a year. So, you can see we had to go through a great wad of stuff to pick out what we were going to put into the book.”
3633. “Margaret Atwood on the Creation of The Handmaid’s Tale.” Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale. Ed. Harold Bloom. Philadelphia: Chelsea House, 2004. 77-78. Excerpt from Marvyn Rothstein’s “No Balm in Gilead for Margaret Atwood.” New York Times 17 February 1986: C11. Interview.
3634. “Whither CanLit: Atwood Answers Readers’ Mail.” Ottawa Citizen 13 June 2004: C10. Excerpt from a story in the Daily Telegraph in which Atwood responded to readers’ questions. Examples:
Dylan / Edinburgh: How hard would you find it to write a novel with, for example, Arnold Schwarzenegger as the protagonist? Atwood: Now that’s a challenge. Arnold the governor might be a little boring; Arnold the Terminator—well, it’s been done. Maybe Arnold could wake up one morning and find that he’s changed into a gerbil. A Kafkaesque take, as it were. This would allow for some inner monologues of interest. Possibly.
Kelly / Washington, DC: Is the golden age of Canadian literature over? At-wood: When was that golden age? Golden ages have a way of being fantasy times that never existed. Usually a “golden age” is the time just before yours, or so you think. It comes from not being allowed to stay up for the adult parties when you were a child.
Tazim Kassam / New York: Assuming that President Bush had the sense to request your advice on how to secure humanity and Earth a better future, what would you say to him? Atwood: Well, that’s a big assumption. My advice would tend to come out sounding like grannies everywhere: Look before you leap, don’t bite off more than you can chew, for want of a nail the shoe was lost, all war and no peace makes George a dull boy, etc.—and maybe a bit like J. Christ—before condemning the mote in your neighbour’s eye, deal with the beam in your own; insofar as you do it unto the least of these prisoners, you do it unto me, etc. But on a practical level, I’d say, Get America off the oil addiction. Develop new sources of energy that are less destructive, both to the country and to the world. They do exist! Return America to its higher self and its former prestige by embodying its best values rather than merely quoting them. Hands up all who think such advice would be taken.
3635. “You Ask the Questions: So, Margaret Atwood, Your Latest Novel Foretells the End of the Human Race: How Long Have We Got Left? And Where Do You Keep Your Booker Prize?” The Independent 20 April 2004: s.p. Available from Lexis-Nexis. Atwood responds to various questions submitted by readers: Examples:
Michael Jones (email): Will you write an autobiography, or do you prefer to keep us guessing? Atwood: I lead an uneventful and boringly virtuous life. But then, I would say that, wouldn’t I?
Clare Shannon (email): Among the reams written about you and your work by academics and students, have you found anything insightful or interesting? At-wood: Such material is the Medusa’s head. Look at it and you turn to stone. I’m glad it keeps people busily employed and off the streets, but I don’t have to read it.
Jules Mason / London: Are you nostalgic for your early days as a writer? I understand you used to recite your poetry in bohemian coffeehouses. It sounds very romantic. Atwood: It does sound romantic, doesn’t it? Actually, it was kind of smoky. Also, every time you came to your most plangent line, someone would flush the toilet or turn on the espresso machine. No, I’m not too nostalgic. I was consumed with anxiety. Young people have a lot of stresses on them. They don’t know how the plot is likely to turn out.
Jo Stella / Leeds: Would the world be a better place without literary critics? Atwood: Actually, no. Think of them as the town criers or the village gossips. “Love the shoes, hated the hat, and did you get a load of that metaphor.…” But at least they let people know that an event has taken place, so you can go and see for yourself. I write literary criticism myself from time to time. But I’m not chained to a desk in the cellar, lashed by an editor who demands controversy, so I can write about books I like.