​Margaret Atwood: A Famous Canuck

The Woman:

The “Octopus” that faced the brunt of sexism and later on, promoted women’s rights and introduced Canada to feminism. A “Medusa” known for her sharp wit and even sharper tongue. An individual that single–handedly incited the Canadian ‘Renaissance’ and defined Canadians’ individuality. One whose whole life that was changed by her birthplace–from her interests, strengths, and beliefs to her passions, friendships, and flaws. An author whose name is synonymous with Canada itself – Margaret Atwood. There is no doubt whether Margaret Atwood is one of the greatest Canadian authors of all time. 

Atwood's books have been published in more than 40 languages, including Farsi, Japanese, Turkish, Finnish, Korean, Icelandic and Estonian. So far, she has a total of 14 published novels, 10 short story collections, 20 poetry collections, 7 children’s books and 3 television scripts. Furthermore, Margaret has won a whooping fifty five distinguished literary awards, including two Governor General's Awards and the Man Booker Prize. 

In the 1970’s, Margaret Atwood helped incite the New Age of Canadian Literature – a period of literary rebirth from 1966 to 1973 and dominated this era with the help of her book Survival. She has impacted many Canadians’ views on a variety of subjects especially feminism and women’s rights and changed the mindsets of many. Her feministic novels were especially influential throughout the late 1900’s as women became accepted more as equals to men.