arts + lit A literary dinner party

Arts and Lit writers discuss who they’d invite to a literary soirée

Margaret

Atwood

IF I were to invite anyone for a literary-themed soirée, I would love for Margaret Atwood to be in attendance. An award-winning and prolific Canadian writer, best known for the distinguished and popular novel The Handmaid’s Tale, which has now been made into a successful Channel 4 adaptation, Margaret Atwood asks the questions in her fiction which most authors are afraid to ask. Usually concerned with state power, she explores the consequences of anxieties in our contemporary world, whether that is to do with technology (Oryx and Crake) or feminist retellings (The Penelopiad, Hag-Seed). I would love to know how she writes; her worlds are so sprawling, complicated and well-formed, but must be a nightmare to try and conceptualise in early stages of writing. I would also like to know why she chose to re-write The Tempest in her book Hag-Seed; what about this play captivated her enough to write a modern re-telling of the story? Atwood is one of my favourite writers and I’d encourage anyone to read her fiction; it is eye-opening and capivating.

Ella Minty, Arts and Lit Editor

Oscar Wilde

IF given the opportunity to host a society soirée with any literary figure, I would certainly invite the late Victorian writer, Oscar Wilde. The reason I would choose to invite Oscar Wilde to a dinner party would probably be due to the fact that I absolutely loved reading his most famous novel The Picture of Dorian Gray for my A-Level in English. I would be particularly excited to ask about his inspirations for his novel alongside discussing his other works such as The Importance of Being Earnest. Not only is Oscar Wilde an incredible literary figure, but he was also well-known for his decadence during the period of fin-de-siecle and aestheticism. His style was iconic for the period, and I would love to talk about his style choices and even how he might find modern day fashion trends. He was unfortunately a figure surrounded by scandal, after being tried for homosexuality in 1895, meaning that he would never be able to clear his name. It would be fascinating to find out from his own perspective how the trials affected him as well as me being able to bring him comfort that in the modern day, he would be much more accepted for his sexuality.