Eating Fire : Selected Poetry, 1965-95

by Margaret Atwood

The evolution of Margaret Atwood's poetry illuminates one of our major literary talents. Here, as in her novels, is intensity combined with sardonic detachment, and in these early poems her genius for a level stare at the ordinary is wonderfully apparent. Just as startling is her ability to contrast the everyday with the 'Each time I hit a key/ on my electric typewriter/ speaking of peaceful trees/ another village explodes.' Her poetic voice is crystal clear, insistent, unmistakably her own. Through bus trips and postcards, wilderness and trivia, she reflects the passion and energy of a writer intensely engaged with her craft and the world. Two former collections, Poems 1965 - 1975 and Poems 1976 - 1986, are presented together with her latest collection, Morning in the Burned House, in this omnibus that represents the development of a major poet.

Genres: Poetry, Classics, Canada, Fiction, Feminism, Contemporary, Literature

384 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 1998

About the author

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, children’s literature, fiction, and non-fiction and is perhaps best known for her novels, which include The Edible Woman (1970), The Handmaid's Tale (1983), The Robber Bride (1994), Alias Grace (1996), and The Blind Assassin, which won the prestigious Booker Prize in 2000. Atwood's dystopic novel, Oryx and Crake, was published in 2003. The Tent (mini-fictions) and Moral Disorder (short stories) both appeared in 2006. Her most recent volume of poetry, The Door, was published in 2007. Her non-fiction book, Payback: Debt and the Shadow Side of Wealth ­ in the Massey series, appeared in 2008, and her most recent novel, The Year of the Flood, in the autumn of 2009. Ms. Atwood's work has been published in more than forty languages, including Farsi, Japanese, Turkish, Finnish, Korean, Icelandic and Estonian. In 2004 she co-invented the Long Pen TM.

Margaret Atwood currently lives in Toronto with writer Graeme Gibson.

Associations: Margaret Atwood was President of the Writers' Union of Canada from May 1981 to May 1982, and was President of International P.E.N., Canadian Centre (English Speaking) from 1984-1986. She and Graeme Gibson are the Joint Honourary Presidents of the Rare Bird Society within BirdLife International. Ms. Atwood is also a current Vice-President of PEN International.

Reviews

[Iria · Rating 4 out of 5]

“I would like to be the air that inhabits you for a moment only. I would like to be that unnoticed and that necessary.”

[Courtney · Rating 3 out of 5]

I feel like if this was a more curated collection then it would have been a four star read no question but for as it is, it's a three star read. It's a three star read with some blistering five star poems included. Especially the poems that focus on women and the general lack of respect they are given in the world. The poems about the Canadian wilderness are great but there's just so many of them and they end up feeling a bit same same-y. But that might also be because of my lack of experience with the Canadian wilderness. Who knows?

last year I abstained
this year I devour

without guilt
which is also an art

I'll probably revisit this collection at some point in the future. I feel like some of these pieces might lend themselves more to me as I age. I guess that's a sign of good poetry. You might not recognise it's relevancy to your current self but your future self might. I don't know. That sounds like a pretentious idea. But there is a longevity in Margaret Atwood's words.

[Meem · Rating 4 out of 5]

What has Margaret Atwood been SMOKING? D:

[Sheida · Rating 4 out of 5]

Isn't there enough of the past
Without making more?

Eating Fire is an interesting poetry collection and probably one of my most enjoyable experiences both with poetry and with Atwood's writing. It's quite an eye-opening experience to see a collection of her poetry spanning from 1965 to 1995 and to see just how much her style and her priorities change in those three decades. A book that begins with poems filled with fire and passion and a dark and sinister view at life slowly turn into poems about nostalgia, grief, and death and I found this gradual growth from poetry about a whole life ahead of you and poetry about a life well-lived to be absolutely fascinating.
Of course, in an almost 400 page book spanning 30 years of poems, I'm not going to love (nor understand) everything that is there and there were times were I just didn't get it (why is there no attempt at rhyming in most Western poetry? I am absolutely baffled tbh). But overall, there were some truly touching moments and one poem in particular called Five Poems for My Grandmother honestly knocked the breath out of my lungs, here's the ending to that particular poem (it's a long-ish one) to end this review with:

You will flicker in these words
and in the words of others
for a while and then go out.

Even if I send them,
you will never get these letters.
Even if I see you again,

I will never see you again.

[nasti · Rating 4 out of 5]

still not big on poetry but atwood’s is definitely more graspable for me! enjoyed this

[Rose · Rating 1 out of 5]

Just not for me

[Richard · Rating 3 out of 5]

Margaret Atwood is one of those authors whom many seem to love and venerate as a grande dame of Canadian literature, but I have never genuflected at her shrine. I must admit though, that there is something about her poetry that is very powerful, albeit disturbing.

It is full of animals that slink, bodies that are mutilated or raped, attacked by suffering, old age, death and decay. Natural forces like sun, wind, water and fire threaten and invade. People and memories fade but refuse to disappear. The poems are tinged with violence, protest, sex, regret, nostalgia, wisdom, cynicism. Atwood's voice is not happy or sweet, but it is articulate and insistent. It demands to be heard and will not submit to being silenced.

[Cherie Palmer · Rating 2 out of 5]

Love Atwood! This was so disappointing!

[Diane · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was given this book many years ago, already well thumbed, long before I discovered the delights of Atwood's novels. Atwood quickly became one of my favorite authors and Eating Fire a favorite in my poetry collection. This collection is a definite must read.

"I would like to be the air that inhabits you for a moment only. I would like to be that unnoticed and that necessary".

[V · Rating 5 out of 5]

"I would like to be the air that inhabits you for a moment only. I would like to be that unnoticed and that necessary."

5+. So raw, emotional, and beautiful.

[Robin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm a fan of Atwood's fiction and had previously read a handful of her poetry, so thought I would enjoy this large chunk of work.
Sadly, it was hard going. The early work from the 60's and 70's just left me flat. Poetry can be difficult, but it doesn't need to be, and sometimes I just feel it's purposely written that way. There were many examples of that here.
That said, lots of classic Atwood tropes are present, the environment, women, love, ageing, relationships, with added delicious dollops of death and decay.
I definitely enjoyed the later work more, perhaps this showed her development as a writer.
Would I return to her as a poet? Possibly not. There are a handful of pieces I'll read again but for the most part, I'd rather spend my time rereading one of her dystopian fictions.

[Kat · Rating 5 out of 5]

I started this forever ago and then dipped in and out of it and then devoured most of it in a huge gulp today. I’ll absolutely be revisiting many many many of these poems and I’m now desperate for individual collections.
Atwood is a magician, her words are sharp and electric and glowing and fierce and haunting and precise and humourous and amazing. There are masterpieces of poems in here and not a single one I didn’t like, though some were more memorable than others.
So glad I finally finished this, if only so I can now revisit it all over again.
One of my favourite poets.

[Christina Helregel · Rating 2 out of 5]

I guess I just don’t like poetry, it’s been confirmed. I liked some of these (the one about the witch who was hanged but didn’t die was beautiful) but I prefer Atwood’s novels (which I live, see Robber Bride, Edible Woman, and ofc Handmaids Tale). Overall I just have a hard time reading a book of poetry consistently. There are maybe 10 or so I would turn back to but 368 pages of just poetry is a lot to read and that was my mistake, for not interspersing it with other books and treating this like a novel, even though I know how I am with poetry. Sigh.

[Andrew Corsini · Rating 3 out of 5]

Atwood's poetry is only really for Atwood enthusiasts, and I can see poetry experts peering over their glasses and getting sniffy about this book that, like most generic poetry, seeks to describe life through food. Still, Atwood's bloody fingerprints are all over this book, and parts of it, especially her frequent writing about animals, recalls the early primal memories of mankind. People forget how violent and visceral her writing is, gorging itself on blood; she has a particular thing for skulls. Not classic Atwood, but for the collectors.

[❀ iro ❀ · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5*

While I'll be the first to talk about how incredibly talented Margaret Atwood is, and how much I admire her forging of language, I must admit I didn't connect with much of her poetry in this collection.
Some poems were too abstract for my taste, some others too naturalistic. All in all, it was an enjoyable read, but not a favorite.

My absolute favorite poems came from the Power Politics (which I have already read and loved), and Morning in the Burned House collections.

[Scott Holstad · Rating 4 out of 5]

Atwood isn't necessarily my favorite writer, but I've enjoyed her for decades and think she's one of this era's more talented, multi-faceted writers in the world. If only every writer could aspire to her craftsmanship, gifts and success... As with most anything by her, definitely recommended!

[Julie Bouchonville]

Atwood is much smarter than me, something I strongly like when reading her novels and essays. With poetry, however, i find it doesnt work for me as Im left feeling confused and generally not emotionally moved. I just dont get what she's doing.

[Jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eating fire was a thrilling esoteric experience. Sometimes I think I think too much, and this makes me ill… I missed great writing. Yes, I am elitist and pretentious, I can’t suffer popular books, because of the bad writing. Brilliant work! As always! Fantastic writing. Wish I could write so, too.

[Lucy Mannix · Rating 5 out of 5]

I normally have such a strong hatred for Margaret mainly due to her obvious fetish and obsession with making her female characters be sexually assaulted but this poetry collection will always stick with me. just stunning!

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.95*

[Sam P · Rating 4 out of 5]

Prompt: A book with a two-word title.

[Guoda · Rating 4 out of 5]

When it hits, it hits.

[MadameSoundso · Rating 5 out of 5]

For me Atwood was love at first sight and this collection of poems is fabulous.

[Laurianne]

DNF but will finish this at some point
Just haven't picked it up in ages and need to clear my 'currently readling' list

[Stacey Bookerworm · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was a given I was going to enjoy this

[odge · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars, good i like her poetry a lot

[Martyna · Rating 5 out of 5]

przepiękne

[Wenjing Fan]

目前读下来算是玛格丽特阿特伍德诗里比较“传统”的诗歌了，有少量叙事、有态度表达，但更多是有创造力的意象，愉快的阅读感。

[Danielle Palmer · Rating 2 out of 5]

Another reviewer wrote for this compilation “what was Margaret Atwood smoking?!” I couldn’t agree more. The first 1/2 (at least) of this book, her earlier writings, was hard for me to get through. There are odd bits and pieces I liked or admired but they were few and far between and really jumbled in with a lot of indecipherable (to me) mess. The later sections made more sense to me. This is not a poetry book you can pick up and start reading anywhere, as some of the selections included are portions of long stories (not short poems) so you’re pretty lost when dropped in the middle. I’d only recommend this for rabid Atwood fans who read every magazine article and novel she’s ever written and want to own every piece of her work (and who want to spend long hours deconstructing what the hell she might be trying to say). Based on liking the poems toward the end of the book most, I’d give her collection “morning in the burned house” a try instead. I only managed to finish this book because I wanted to find some gems to share with my mom.

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5☆

These poems are not sweet. They are not nice. They are venomous, and sarcastic, and angry, and hungry. Definitely not the perfect poetry collection and there are some very valid criticisms against Margaret Atwood, but she really knows how to write poetry that hits me where it hurts.