What do we mean when we say that someone is a writer? Is he or she an entertainer? A high priest of the god of Art? An improver of readers' minds a...
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Mar 22, 2009
Madeline
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Atwood writing about how she became a writer, what it means to be a writer, and why writers do what they do.
If, in my struggles to be a writer, I manage to become even half as talented as Margaret Atwood, that will be enough. That's really all I can think of to say, so I'll just share some of my favorite parts of the book (warning - I had a lot of favorite parts):
"Around the age of seven I wrote a play. The protagonist was a giant; the theme was crime and punishment; the c More...
If, in my struggles to be a writer, I manage to become even half as talented as Margaret Atwood, that will be enough. That's really all I can think of to say, so I'll just share some of my favorite parts of the book (warning - I had a lot of favorite parts):
"Around the age of seven I wrote a play. The protagonist was a giant; the theme was crime and punishment; the c More...
May 20, 2008
Ollie
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What makes someone a writer? What's the role of the writer in the world today? Should she write just for Art's sake or does she have a social responsibility? Is there a third way? And is there an underlying (and universal) psychological reason behind every writer's desire to put words to paper? Margaret Atwood answers all these questions, and more, in six essays which were originally lectures given at Cambridge University.
The great thing about Atwood is that she doesn't place he More...
The great thing about Atwood is that she doesn't place he More...
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May 11, 2011
Britta
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Into the Labyrinth: A Writer on Writing.
Why Write?
To record the world as it is. To set down the past before it is all forgotten. To excavate the past because it has been forgotten. To satisfy my desire for revenge. Because I knew I had to keep writing or else I would die. Because to write is to take risks, and it is only by taking risks that we know we are alive. To produce order out of chaos. To delight and instruct (not often found after the early twentieth century, or not More...
Why Write?
To record the world as it is. To set down the past before it is all forgotten. To excavate the past because it has been forgotten. To satisfy my desire for revenge. Because I knew I had to keep writing or else I would die. Because to write is to take risks, and it is only by taking risks that we know we are alive. To produce order out of chaos. To delight and instruct (not often found after the early twentieth century, or not More...
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Jan 08, 2008
Jonathan
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I enjoyed this book immensely!
Atwood's collection of essays are centered around all of the different ways the writer/artist has to negotiate: with themselves, their audience, their practical concerns, and their history/influences. If you consider yourself a poet or write fiction or just take your "creative" writing seriously as something you really want to do, then this book will give you some really interesting things to think about.
And it's organization is v More...
Atwood's collection of essays are centered around all of the different ways the writer/artist has to negotiate: with themselves, their audience, their practical concerns, and their history/influences. If you consider yourself a poet or write fiction or just take your "creative" writing seriously as something you really want to do, then this book will give you some really interesting things to think about.
And it's organization is v More...
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Feb 21, 2011
Ethan
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"Wanting to meet an author because you like their work is like wanting to meet a duck because you like pate."
This book is a well-established writer's take on writing, intended for writers. This was a bit of a strange book. At times, Atwood tends to dissolve into overly philosophical navel-gazing, but every so often she says something quite interesting and clever. I would describe this book as Mostly Okay with moments of Awesome.
This book is based on a series More...
This book is a well-established writer's take on writing, intended for writers. This was a bit of a strange book. At times, Atwood tends to dissolve into overly philosophical navel-gazing, but every so often she says something quite interesting and clever. I would describe this book as Mostly Okay with moments of Awesome.
This book is based on a series More...
May 31, 2010
Amber
rated it:
Someone's looking out for me up there. Last spring I happened upon Northrop Frye's Educated Imagination, and devoured it (and have since done so a few more times). More recently, I bought Margaret Atwood's Negotiating with the Dead, only because I'd enjoyed some of her poetry and this was in a blow-out sale at Coles. Like Frye's Massey Lectures, it's one of those books that has changed the way I think about literature and writing. What's astonishing to me is how well one follows upon the othe
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Apr 09, 2010
Kate
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Notes from NEGOTIATING WITH THE DEAD: A WRITER ON WRITING by Margaret Atwood
2002 Hardcover edition published by Cambridge University (ISBN 0-521-66260-5)
Page 5 - "No writer emerges from childhood into a pristine environment, free from other people's biases about writers. All of us bump against a number of preconceptions about what we are or ought to be like, what constitutes good writing, and what social functions writing fulfills, or ought to fulfill. All of us deve More...
2002 Hardcover edition published by Cambridge University (ISBN 0-521-66260-5)
Page 5 - "No writer emerges from childhood into a pristine environment, free from other people's biases about writers. All of us bump against a number of preconceptions about what we are or ought to be like, what constitutes good writing, and what social functions writing fulfills, or ought to fulfill. All of us deve More...
Jan 21, 2009
Cynthia
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This is possibly my favorite Atwood ever. It is intensely personal, from a series of lectures she gave. The final chapter especially, is incredible.
(p.10) "When I was eight we moved again, to another postwar bungalow, this time nearer the center of Toronto, at that time a stodgy provincial city of seven hundred thousand. I was now faced with real life, in the form of other little girls--their prudery and snobbery, their Byzantine social life based on whispering and vicious goss More...
(p.10) "When I was eight we moved again, to another postwar bungalow, this time nearer the center of Toronto, at that time a stodgy provincial city of seven hundred thousand. I was now faced with real life, in the form of other little girls--their prudery and snobbery, their Byzantine social life based on whispering and vicious goss More...
Apr 05, 2009
Valerie
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Less a book about how to write. Rather a theory on what a writer is and why a writer writes. Atwood explores fascinating terrain by examining the poets and myths of old. An intriguing read if you want something a little thicker to chew on.
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May 05, 2010
Charles
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Margaret Atwood is maybe the only famous writer with whom I have been personally acquainted. And that was a long time ago, when we were graduate students at Harvard. She wasn't famous then, except in Canada, where one of her books of poetry had won the Governor General's Award, but we were sure she would be. Based on a series of lectures she gave at Cambridge University, this book includes some amusing insights into how her personality, interests and career were shaped by growing up in Canada in
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Jan 13, 2012
August
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Margaret Atwood has been on my to-read list for a very long time, but I hadn't heard about this book until I stumbled upon it in the writing section at the library. The title intrigued me enough to pick it up, and I'm incredibly glad I did. Memoirs of writing are usually fun, in their own way, and some (like Bird by Bird, for example, or On Writing) are fantastic. This, though, tackled all those topics which are closest to the fear in a writer's life - things like writing Art for Art's Sake vs.
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Jun 01, 2011
Mary Anne
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This book is a little more 3.5 stars, but such are the details. I happily give four stars to this book. I have only read a handful of Margaret Atwood's work (the Margaret Atwood of each book, that is). Each author is quite unique when writing about writing, and while I can't entirely identify with this book, I know that when Margaret Atwood was writing for the lecture series (and then, of course, for this book), that she felt these topics were relevant and necessary.
One thing I really More...
One thing I really More...
Nov 02, 2010
Michael
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The pen is mightier than the sword...
This is my first book reading experience by Maraget Atwood. It is a personable memoir that opened my eyes to the value, importance and creativity of writing. If anyone writes--in any way---they'll learn from this book. I was especially astonished to read how most writers have a sort of "double identity". It makes perfect sense in that a writer has to take on many forms, personalities and feelings in order to emote a character. She also p More...
This is my first book reading experience by Maraget Atwood. It is a personable memoir that opened my eyes to the value, importance and creativity of writing. If anyone writes--in any way---they'll learn from this book. I was especially astonished to read how most writers have a sort of "double identity". It makes perfect sense in that a writer has to take on many forms, personalities and feelings in order to emote a character. She also p More...
Dec 27, 2009
The book developed from a series of six lectures on being a writer Atwood delivered at the University of Cambridge in 2000. I read two books recently that attempted the same thing in a way: Elizabeth Costello, and The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana. Coetze fictionalized his lectures and actually added the character of a writer (Elizabeth Costello) to present them, and Eco’s book held great literary promise, but did not deliver in the end; it concentrated on the legacy of comic books. Atwood, on
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Sep 21, 2011
Paul
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There has never been a book about writing that I have enjoyed as thoroughly as Atwood's Negotiating with the Dead. Being an English Writing minor, I've come across a number of "writing" books. They are typically mundane and full of exercises. Exercises are great, but I don't need a book full of them–that's what the internet is for. Margaret Atwood, on the other hand, presents writing in a unique way. Instead of being full of techniques on how to write, Negotiating with the Dead discuss
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Jan 09, 2010
Janey
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Of the many "writing" books I have read, this one is my current favorite, along with Charles Baxter's SUBPLOT book. Both of them approach writing as the complex psychic incomprehensible journey of discovery it actually is, instead of proposing cookbook techniques to produce saleable books.
Ms. Atwood and I are of an age so when she discusses the cultural blocks she met as a young writer, she makes me laugh with recognition. Lovely to name things that have previously exist More...
Ms. Atwood and I are of an age so when she discusses the cultural blocks she met as a young writer, she makes me laugh with recognition. Lovely to name things that have previously exist More...
Sep 13, 2011
Vicki
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Margaret Atwood made me get teary-eyed on the subway while reading this book.
"Negotiating With the Dead" is a reflection on the roles of writers and their readers, adapted and somewhat expanded from the Empson Lectures which Margaret Atwood delivered at Cambridge University in 2000. It is breathtakingly erudite and eclectic, but is also interwoven with very personal and down-to-earth recollections and episodes from Atwood's own journey as both a writer and a reader. It was More...
"Negotiating With the Dead" is a reflection on the roles of writers and their readers, adapted and somewhat expanded from the Empson Lectures which Margaret Atwood delivered at Cambridge University in 2000. It is breathtakingly erudite and eclectic, but is also interwoven with very personal and down-to-earth recollections and episodes from Atwood's own journey as both a writer and a reader. It was More...
Apr 03, 2011
Eirin
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A lovely set of essays regarding writing. Atwood makes the process tangible, and at the same time raises questions and creates interest. I loved her way of writing, it was colourful and funny. It showed a real love for the craft.
My copy is now littered with notes in the margins, and little hearts where her sentences or quotes struck me as particularily beautiful. It's also full of print outs of poems she quoted only parts of, but that I found so delightful I had to have the entire t More...
My copy is now littered with notes in the margins, and little hearts where her sentences or quotes struck me as particularily beautiful. It's also full of print outs of poems she quoted only parts of, but that I found so delightful I had to have the entire t More...
Oct 05, 2009
Lisa
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In this collection of essays, Atwood explores the psycho-social realities of writing and being a Writer (capital W), while drawing upon a wealth of literary references and examples to illustrate her points. For me, the most memorable of these essays was the one in which Atwood described the doppelganger self of the Writer; the person who writes is both ordinary human being and this writing self, and as such, often lives a divided life. As an ordinary human being, the person who writes is rathe
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Dec 28, 2008
Jamie
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My first real foray into Atwood's non-fiction, and it was enlightening, to say the least. I'll confess that the book loses steam on many occasions, but for the chapter on duplicity alone, the whole text is worth it. Besides, it's under 200 pages, and a rather easy read, especially in comparison to much of her fiction. If I had to classify the book, I'd say it's Atwood's "A Room of One's Own"--she deals with the causes and effects of writing, with the monoliths of the canon, with the
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Nov 18, 2009
Palmyrah
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A sextet of essays about writing and writers, derived from lectures delivered at Cambridge University, each of which rambles eruditely but somewhat formlessly, leaving you wondering, at its end, what exactly Ms. Atwood was on about. The kind of writing that is a nightmare to summarize.
I liked the fifth essay, which is about the relationship between writer and reader, best. The other essays have less to recommend them, in my view, and the thesis of the last does indeed tend, as the au More...
I liked the fifth essay, which is about the relationship between writer and reader, best. The other essays have less to recommend them, in my view, and the thesis of the last does indeed tend, as the au More...
Aug 29, 2009
Adrian
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This is Atwood's obligatory book about writing, although it really has nothing to with writing and more to do with being a writer. It's a quick read with lots of musings on the writer's life, the power of art, and things like that. Present is Atwood's characteristic storytelling style. The anecdotes are well rendered and insightful. Not recommended for those in search of a true "writing" book, but previously established fans of Atwood's work should find this book worth reading.
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Apr 02, 2009
Jeana
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This book was a bit of a disappointment, considering I really like Atwood's fiction. It read more like an academic paper (several actually) that were very dry in a lot of places. There were bits of things I liked in it--for example, I liked the section about how the writer and reader communicate--only through the page. And she also touched on for whom a writer is writing.
There were several sections that were really not interesting to me at all. But there were bits I liked. Her More...
There were several sections that were really not interesting to me at all. But there were bits I liked. Her More...
Jun 07, 2011
Thom
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This is literary theory in a way, but written in a completely different way. Of course, not all literary theory is difficult reading, but this was actually enjoyable reading. I don't think you'd catch me reading Roland Barthes in Starbucks, but this you would. Everything she has to tell you is expressed in very human terms and with Margaret Atwood's usual sense of humour. In fact the style is so similar, that it could just be one of her fictional narrators speaking throughout the whole book. Atw
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Dec 17, 2009
Jim
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I have mixed feelings about this book. In the main I enjoyed it but I suspect I would have enjoyed it more in its original form, as a series of six lectures. I wonder how much she added to pad it out to a book. It has a pleasant “chatty” way to it similar to the “Books for Dummies” style.
The first two chapters engaged me the most, particularly the chapter on duplicity, though I would have enjoyed, I think, hearing more about her own experiences as a writer with a few less quotations. More...
The first two chapters engaged me the most, particularly the chapter on duplicity, though I would have enjoyed, I think, hearing more about her own experiences as a writer with a few less quotations. More...
Jan 09, 2010
Tiah
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You could spend hours talking about one her paragraphs, never mind the entire book. At university all students were required to undergo four "seminar" courses. While reading I could not help but think how much meat this book contained for a seminar course. I want to travel back in time and do this book at seminar. Ah - the memories.
Main thoughts:
1 - Reading this book once through will not be enough. Nor twice.
2 - I had no idea Margaret Atwood had such a fascin
Main thoughts:
1 - Reading this book once through will not be enough. Nor twice.
2 - I had no idea Margaret Atwood had such a fascin
Nov 27, 2010
Each chapter was originally a lecture. It's an enjoyable read, though its insights aren't precisely news to serious writers (who probably were not its intended audience, either). My favorites were the first, most autobiographical, and the last, which is about the writer's relationship with death and the dead.
Mar 03, 2009
Tom
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"You can have money of your own; you can marry money; you can attract a patron -- whether a king, a duke, or an arts board; you can have a day job; or you can sell to the market. Those are the choices, for a writer, in relation to money, and they are the only choices."
Jan 24, 2011
Mel
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I have enjoyed many of Ms. Atwood's novels and would like to think she has interesting things to say other than those thoughts she has put into her stories. Unfortunately, there isn't much of interest in this book. It rambled and just seemed unnecessary.
May 23, 2011
Nikki
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Margaret Atwood is, I tentatively conclude, not really the kind of writer I truly enjoy. I can appreciate her work, but I don't fall in love with it. I'm not sure why, altogether: partially, perhaps, because I think I could pinpoint her as the author of something without knowing. Her style gets between me and the narrative.
Her style is apparent even in her non-fiction book about writing. It's a collection of connected essays. The essays didn't feel particularly conclusive, though. In More...
Her style is apparent even in her non-fiction book about writing. It's a collection of connected essays. The essays didn't feel particularly conclusive, though. In More...
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