of the 50s and 60s. As the birth control pill and the mini skirt first captured popular attention, second wave feminism was gaining momentum. “Those moments are moments I indeed lived through,” reflects Atwood, noting that ultimately it is experience that shapes the individual. “There’s quite a difference between a contemporaneous cultural experience and an archaic reference.” As an aspiring woman writer in Canada during this period, Atwood encountered a number of obstacles to her literary development. “In 1960, there were five novels published in the whole year by English Canadian writers and English Canadian publishers. Count them: five. There were
“THERE’S QUITE A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A CONTEMPORANEOUS CULTURAL EXPERIENCE AND AN ARCHAIC REFERENCE.” MARGARET ATWOOD
20 books of poetry but that included chat books that people had published in their cellar,” says Atwood, whose career took shape within this crucial period in Canadian literary history. Compare the scene now and it’s quite different. From our current perspective, Canada is a major player in the literary world and Atwood is an established and internationally respected writer whose critical success is matched only by her popularity amongst readers. Interestingly, her latest work will remain unseen for the next 100 years. Atwood was named as the first contributor to an innovative new conceptual art and literary project in Norway. Led by Scottish artist Katie Paterson, the Future Library project kicked off this past summer with the planting of a forest of 1,000 trees just outside Oslo. Starting this year with Atwood and continuing every year until 2114, one writer will be invited to contribute a new text to the library collection. “You can produce only one copy and you can’t tell what’s in it,” says Atwood, who was intrigued by
the project, which locks her most recent work away with only the title and author’s name visible. “One hundred years later, Sleeping Beauty wakes up and they open all the boxes. Keeping that in mind, my first move was to get some archival paper and some non-fade ink so that when they open the box they don’t find a bunch of yellowed shreds.” For Atwood, her involvement signals a vote of confidence in the future – that there will be libraries, readers and a need to share our story. Atwood herself clearly feels a need to tell stories and as the speaker at the University of Lethbridge 2015 Calgary Alumni & Friends Dinner next March she will do just that. “If you’re asked to give a speech, it’s best to talk about things you know something about,” says Atwood, avoiding specifics. “It would be a violation of the rules of writing for me to talk about everything I’m going to put in my speech.” Drawing inspiration from literary giant Charles Dickens to sum up her formula, Atwood says, “Make ‘em laugh; make ‘em cry; make ‘em wait,” thereby leaving us all in suspense.
FRIDAY, MARCH 27, 2015
WESTIN CALGARY | 320 4 AVE SW | CALGARY, ALTA.
Join guest speaker Margaret Atwood, Booker Prize-winning author of the Blind Assassin and Payback.
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$175 PER TICKET OR $1,400 PER TABLE Tickets available November 24, 2014. To purchase tickets, visit: ulethbridge.ca/conreg/calgarydinner. For more information, contact University Advancement at 1-866-552-2582 or advancement.events@uleth.ca. Tickets are limited.