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Morning in the Burned House

by Margaret Atwood (Goodreads Author)

4.08 of 5 stars 4.08 · rating details · 952 ratings · 66 reviews

These beautifully crafted poems - by turns dark, playful, intensely moving, tender, and intimate - make up Margaret Atwood's most accomplished and versatile gathering to date, " setting foot on the middle ground / between body and word." Some draw on history, some on myth, both classical and popular. Others, more personal, concern themselves with love, with the fragility o...more

Paperback, 144 pages

Published September 16th 1996 by Mariner Books (first published 1995)

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Apr 03, 2013 Maggie Mason rated it 3 of 5 stars

Margaret Atwood is a favorite author, but this is my first read of her poetry. My favorite poem from Morning in the Burned House:

CRESSIDA TO TROILUS: A GIFT

You forced me to give you poisonous gifts.
I can put this no other way.
Everything I gave was to get rid of you
as one gives to a beggar: There. Go away.
The first time, the first sentence even
was in answer to your silent clamour
and not for love, and therefore not
a gift, but to get you out of my hair
or whatever part of me you had slid into
by stea...more

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Apr 27, 2012 T. rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: favourites, poetry

I remember this book well. It was 2006: it was before lunch, it was October, it was raining a bit. I was at a workshop, we had a bit of a break, I was nervous and jittery and mooching off somebody's cigarette pack. I hoped buying a book would make me feel better. My favourite book shop at the time was allowed to set up a table outside the hall - maybe they heard that writers have been congregating here for the past two days - and I thought it was a pretty smart decision. We bought a lot of books...more I remember this book well. It was 2006: it was before lunch, it was October, it was raining a bit. I was at a workshop, we had a bit of a break, I was nervous and jittery and mooching off somebody's cigarette pack. I hoped buying a book would make me feel better. My favourite book shop at the time was allowed to set up a table outside the hall - maybe they heard that writers have been congregating here for the past two days - and I thought it was a pretty smart decision. We bought a lot of books that day. We also got pretty drunk that night. Years after: relationships dissolved, some ideals were let go of, the urge to write comes and goes, and yet this book remains.

Written on April 27, 2007:

While I never blamed my parents for putting me in such a position between the firstborn of the family (who acts like the youngest now) and my two youngest sisters, I do feel the brunt of it sometimes. Growing up I just taught myself not to care. I do find this the saddest thing, though, something which is a bit true (at least, for this family):

“They tend to have fewer pictures in the family photo album alone, compared to firstborns.” (•)

But because I’ve learned to live with it, and because I’ve long ago told myself that I cannot absolutely afford to get upset about things like this, I pull this poem out, like I’ve done a lot of times, and sit still, and keep quiet, and be okay:

A Sad Child
Margaret Atwood

You’re sad because you’re sad.
It’s psychic. It’s the age. It’s chemical.
Go see a shrink or take a pill,
or hug your sadness like an eyeless doll
you need to sleep.

Well, all children are sad
but some get over it.
Count your blessings. Better than that,
buy a hat. Buy a coat or pet.
Take up dancing to forget.

Forget what?
Your sadness, your shadow,
whatever it was that was done to you
the day of the lawn party
when you came inside flushed with the sun,
your mouth sulky with sugar,
in your new dress with the ribbon
and the ice-cream smear,
and said to yourself in the bathroom,
I am not the favourite child.

My darling, when it comes
right down to it
and the light fails and the fog rolls in
and you’re trapped in your overturned body
under a blanket or burning car,

and the red flame is seeping out of you
and igniting the tarmac beside your head
or else the floor, or else the pillow,
none of us is;
or else we all are.

(less)

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Mar 09, 2012 Lisa M. rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 5252, poetry

I will admit, I’m not a huge Atwood fan. I’ve tried to read a few of her novels but never got into them— despite being impressed by their backs and her reputation. I do like her flash fiction/prose poetry, however. So a few months ago I decided to buy this— one of her poetry collections— to see if it impressed me. When I started reading this book I was shocked to see how amateur the poetry read to me. Atwood writes a lot of surreal poetry here, but she doesn’t seem to think her reader will get i...more

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Sep 10, 2010 Kasandra rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is a mixed bag, many poems seem flat & feel nonconsequential/unimportant/even a bit boring, but when she hits one out of the park, she really hits it. Much of the themes are about the passing of time, loss, death, and (of course) feminine energy/opinion/voices. Atwood's poetry is very plainspoken and straightforward, and I think I'd have liked many of these better if they had more "strange" or "weird" to them, more mystery.... but her persona poems are fantastic. The opener, "You Come B...more

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Dec 29, 2011 Rachel rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: poetry

Though I really cannot remember the last time I read a book of poetry, when I spotted this library discard by the well-respected Canadian author, Margaret Atwood, I could not resist. I was hooked with the first poem, as I felt that these words could have echoed from my own thoughts -- a feeling that continued with many more poems in this book. I also loved that she did not feel the need to make her poems rhyme or follow any specific rhythm. I believe the technical term is free verse. At any rate...more

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Feb 14, 2012 Lindsay Raining Bird rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Hard-core Atwood fans only.

I'm not a huge fan of Atwood's myth-inspired/persona poetry. It reads forced and pretentious to me. Similarly, I had little interest in the reimagining of her childhood after her father's death, almost attempting to build her own past into myth. There was one or two lines that really hit me but as a whole, at least 2/3 of the book were throwaway, that I would likely have no interest in reading again. That being said, the whole book is worth a handful of poems. It's all they need. The first secti...more

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Oct 04, 2012 Kate Jacobson rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: contemporary, poetry, feminism, read-in-2012, favorites

I don't actually read a lot of poetry, as a rule. I've read some Akhmatova and some Pushkin, but other than that, I'm not a voracious poetry reader. That said, I absolutely and completely loved this collection of Atwood's poetry.

I've only rated it four stars, because some of the poems read quite flat to me - perhaps I wasn't the required audience, but they weren't hitting me in the right places for them to have the emotional pull I expect from poetry.

But MAN, when Atwood writes a great poem, i...more

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May 30, 2009 Jamie rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: poetry, read-in-2009

I must confess up front: while I'm a (perhaps too much so) devoted fan of Atwood's novels, from what I've read of her poetry, I'm just...not all that impressed. I always hear people talk about her powerful poetic voice and her wonderful turns of phrase, incredible emotion, and lingering images. For a poet working contemporaneously, however, with people like Anne Sexton, Maxine Kumin, Adrienne Rich, among many many other great poets working from the 60s onward, I don't think Atwood's poetry will...more I must confess up front: while I'm a (perhaps too much so) devoted fan of Atwood's novels, from what I've read of her poetry, I'm just...not all that impressed. I always hear people talk about her powerful poetic voice and her wonderful turns of phrase, incredible emotion, and lingering images. For a poet working contemporaneously, however, with people like Anne Sexton, Maxine Kumin, Adrienne Rich, among many many other great poets working from the 60s onward, I don't think Atwood's poetry will stand the test of time. Her novels are incredible--she's clearly among our best living novelists, and I don't know what the contemporary canon would be like without novels like The Handmaid's Tale, Alias Grace, and Cat's Eye (again, among many others). Her poetry does very little for me.

For one thing, the powerful poetic voice? I think one of the most fascinating things about Atwood's poetry is that it is incredibly revealing of her sort of indecisiveness--which reads, unlike in her novels, as insecurity. I can't count the number of times she used this setup: "[descriptor:], or else, [some other unrelated descriptor:]"; [this:], or [that:]; you do [this:], or not." It was frustrating--I wanted her to make up her goddamn mind! Are these old women hiding behind their eyes, or their sofas? Did your father say that this kind of wood was fabulous, or didn't he? I recognize the same pattern in her novels, but there, the similar formula works well over long fiction, because it impels the reader to question their own conceptions of events and actions and emotions in the novels. In the poetry, it reads as a writer's self doubt, and inability to come up with a strong phrasing or decision.

Likewise, though Atwood often hits on really strong images or turns of phrase, just as often, she creates unmemorable ones--stack these two against one another: "The men [are:] excited by their show of hate / their own evil turned inside out like a glove, / and me wearing it" from 'Half Hanged Mary' and then "Let's talk about axes, / which kinds are good, / the many names of wood" from 'The Visit.' The first is actually fairly simple, but it stays with you. Basic emotions--hate, evil--have a lasting quality in her metaphor; the second, though barebones in a way that sort of fits its poem, could have been written by a third grader. I suppose my final verdict on this collection would be that it's just too hit-or-miss to be truly wonderful. There are standout poems, of course. Section ii is superb, with "Miss July Grows Older," "Manet's Olympia," and "Ava Gardner Reincarnated as a Magnolia" being truly, truly great poems. Likewise, "Half Hanged Mary" may be one of the most interesting poems I've read in the past year or so--it's just incredible. But these and the maybe seven or eight other incredible poems of the collection are lost in a sea of forgettable ones.

I think perhaps my issue is that Atwood seems to have a lot of trouble revealing bare emotion--being 'confessional,' so to speak. She seems to need to sublimate intimacy through a filter--fictional characters, myths, or fairytales--to get to the heart of the matter. Cat's Eye, for instance, is one of the most heartbreaking and visceral 'coming of age' sorts of books I've read--but though it's supposedly semi-autobiographical, there's a protective layer there. "Half Hanged Mary" is probably so great, at least in part, because it's close to Atwood--the poem describes her ancestor who was hung for witchcraft, and survived overnight--and distanced--it's not Atwood herself. Because for all the talk of the deeply felt poems about her father's death in this collection (part iv), I felt those were the *most* detached pieces in the book. They didn't touch me much at all. On the other hand, her gropings against Manet and mythological Daphne and Helen of Troy--those poems had hearts. They cut to the quick. If you like Atwood's poetry, this is a clearly accomplished collection--otherwise, check out sections ii and iii, and call it a day.

Also, I know this was harsher than it was meant to be. I recognize the skill here, but I just find her talents far better suited to novels. If you're unfamiliar with Atwood, I say start with her fiction.(less)

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Dec 19, 2007 DJ rated it 4 of 5 stars

The individual poems are often hit or miss, but when they hit they do so with a depth of insight, a clarity of vision and a stunning beauty of prose that all the mediocre poems are forgiven.

There is a section I love, in which she writes poems about women in history: Ava Gardner, Helen of Troy, Miss July. There, her ability to craft a character in a few words simply shines. Her images, often, aren't as specific as they could be, and some of the poems remind me of things I wrote when I was a teena...more

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Mar 22, 2009 Destiny rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: female-authors, poetry

There were a number of individual poems that spoke to me loudly. I re-read the lines and soaked in the imagery. I felt them in my bones. More importantly, though, as a volume of poetry, I also felt a progression and structure that also carried meaning. Each section has a theme to it--and the thematic progression was very organic, though not neccesarily what I would have "expected". I loved her focus on aging as a woman and also the meditations on her father.

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Jan 03, 2013 Julie rated it 4 of 5 stars

I've long been a fan of Margaret Atwood's, but, other than a handful of her poetry, I have read only her fiction. This is a compelling collection. I was not moved so much by language as by feeling, and it is the only compilation of poetry I've encountered which covers with brutal honesty the topics of middle age, old age, and the death of an elderly parent. Particular stand-outs for me were the poems "A Sad Child," "Bored," and "Shapechangers in Winter."

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Feb 02, 2011 Andrea Blythe rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: poetry

My second read of Atwood's lovely collection of poetry ingrained them even more into my imagination. Her poetry creates a mythology of the everyday and brings a feel of reality to mythological tales, often speaking from the point of view of a previously silent woman. This is a beautiful collection, which I will be adding to my personal book shelf as soon as I can.

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Jul 20, 2009 Tara rated it 5 of 5 stars

One of my favourite books of poetry. Atwood managed to make me love poetry in general with this one collection of poems, each piece seemingly written for me, about me, through me. She has a way of putting into words what everyone else feels or thinks about fleetingly. I keep it in my purse, just so I can read it when I need inspiration. It never lets me down.

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Dec 01, 2008 Emily rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Fans of Atwoods, fans of Emily Dickinson

Recommended to Emily by: Stefanie recommended her poetry in general

Shelves: poetry

My first introduction to Atwood's poetry, and I will most definitely be reading more. The poems dealing with her father's decline and death were just stunning, and definitely cried out for empathy, and I loved plenty of others, too, like "Half-Hanged Mary," about a "witch" who was hung and didn't die.

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Mar 23, 2013 Eddy Allen rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction-and-westerns, romance-and-poetry

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May 27, 2012 Story rated it 5 of 5 stars

The poem that made me buy this book was "Miss July Grows Older," which rang out like a whip-crack on the processes of age and desire and fading.

I can't say how many breaths this collection took from me. I can't say how hard it was to grieve with her. By far, one of my favorite books of poetry.

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Feb 03, 2013 Emilia rated it 3 of 5 stars

Again, this is more of a 3.5/5 stars for me.

This book of poetry was very interesting. Some poems stood out to me and I was utterly impressed by them, but others just struck me as odd and a bit boring. However, I did read most of this book right before bed so most of the time I was almost too tired to pay attention, but I digress. I still love Margaret Atwood though, and her views on life and her exquisite writing mean so much to me.

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Nov 15, 2009 Jeff rated it 4 of 5 stars

Margaret Atwood has long been one of my favorite poets. This was published in 1995, but i sort of drifted away from poetry over the last few years, and am just getting back to it. The poems here are just as good and powerful as her work from the 70s, which i'm more familiar with. Amazing how consistent she is - the voice is unmistakably the same after all these years. Much of the subject matter is the same too - the politics of gender is still front & center (Half-Hanged Mary is an excellent...more

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Oct 12, 2012 Sidra rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: poetry

I really should read this more than once to rate, but I didn't. It is an experimental set of poems, from one of my favorite fiction writers; some haunting, some inaccessible. Again, would require another reading or 4.

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Dec 31, 2012 Alice Urchin rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: owned, favorites

Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful.
My favorite section was the one with the goddess theme, and I think my favorite in the collection was either "Helen of Troy Does Counter Dancing" or "Half-Hanged Mary."

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Jan 14, 2010 James rated it 4 of 5 stars

As the New York Times said: "Atwood's poems are short, glistening with terse, bright images, untentative, closing like a vise...A plain, explicit poetry, perfectly sure of itself." Now, I often scoff at the linguistics of reviews, but this captures her poetry perfectly.

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Dec 09, 2012 Amanda rated it 4 of 5 stars

I'm not a fan of poetry but this selection was pretty good. I liked "February" because the humor in it contrasted the profound sense of loss in "Two Dreams 2" and "The Ottawa River By Night".

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Dec 03, 2009 Holly rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: poetry

i think i prefer poetry that makes me laugh. atwood is one of my favorite writers, though i enjoy her fiction - her poetry makes me feel claustrophobic, as if i am locked up in a stuffy living room.

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Apr 17, 2008 Katie rated it 5 of 5 stars

My first time reading anything by Atwood, and definitely won't be my last. This is an engaging collection of poems where she obviously explores issues of aging, death, grief, loneliness, feminism... Oftentimes the tone is melancholy, but she still incorporates wit and humor in some of the language. I really like how she ties in mythology and history throughout the book, and one of my favorite poems in the collection is actually Half-Hanged Mary. Here she does hourly first-person narratives descr...more

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Sep 13, 2008 Katie rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: those who have lost a loved one, need some feminist inspiration, love history, love poetry

Recommended to Katie by: can't remember

I bought this book of poetry and read it for the first time during my stay in Britain during my junior year. It has remained a tremendous source of comfort to me. My copy is tattered, bubbled up, and likely should be replaced. I've made copies of poems in it for students, friends, and to tack on my walls. Atwood's voice of mourning, of insight, and of wry wit never fails to show me something new, something urgent, and something relevant. At this point, I'm so emotionally attached to the book tha...more

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Jan 08, 2011 Jennifer rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: poetry

I would give this 3-1/2 stars if I could. Some of the poems in this don't quite work for me, but the ones she knocks out of the park, she really knocks out of the park.

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Apr 11, 2013 Esther Marie rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: unowned, 2013

I always love Atwood, but none of these poems really stood out for me. Pleased to have read it, but I didn't find it as moving as her earlier poetry.

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Apr 23, 2011 Kevin Fanning added it

Shelves: poetry

Liked "In the Secular Night" (Several hundred years ago / this could have been mysticism / or heresy. It isn't now. / Outside there are sirens.)

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Oct 19, 2011 Molly rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: poetry, thesis, uis-class-books, 4-stars

Read in: modern poetry seminar, and also the inspiration for my master's thesis: ekphrasis in Atwood's poetry.

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Apr 12, 2009 Donna rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-poetry

I read this quite awhile ago, but it is a wonderful book. Quite worthy of Atwood--a most versatile writer.

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About Margaret Atwood

Margaret Atwood was born in 1939 in Ottawa and grew up in northern Ontario, Quebec, and Toronto. She received her undergraduate degree from Victoria College at the University of Toronto and her master's degree from Radcliffe College.

Throughout her writing career, Margaret Atwood has received numerous awards and honourary degrees. She is the author of more than thirty-five volumes of poetry, childr...more

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Quotes from Morning in the Burned ...

“The truth is seldom welcome, especially at dinner.” — 35 people liked it

“Messy love is better than none,
I guess. I am no authority
on sane living.” — 4 people liked it

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