Bailey
asked
Margaret Atwood:
I read Cat's Eye for school and The Handmaid's Tale is on our summer reading list. Did you ever mean for your books to be read in classes? How does it feel to know that schools use your books?
Margaret Atwood
Hello: I myself discovered many authors through school reading lists and through school anthologies. The positives are: young readers can find the world opening up to them through books they study. The negatives may include bad experiences kids have – if they don't like the book or the teacher, or the way the book is taught. I had an excellent (indeed legendary) teacher called Miss Bessie B. Billings, to whom I pay tribute in a story called "My Last Duchess." It's in a collection called "Moral Disorder." That's the way we used to be taught; I can't say it did me any harm… So I suppose my answer to your question is twofold: I meet a lot of readers who first encountered my work in school (good!) And I can only assume there is another group who would run away very fast if they saw me coming, for exactly the same reason.
Reading is individual, and not all tastes are alike. And that in itself is a good thing. We're not ants.
Reading is individual, and not all tastes are alike. And that in itself is a good thing. We're not ants.
More Answered Questions
Crystal
asked
Margaret Atwood:
There are fewer authors who have the ability to be recognized by the general populous, both as novelists and poets. I teach your poetry in my Literature Appreciation courses. I would love to hear your perspective on how you switch between the genres when writing and how you approach each. Is poetry more "pleasure" than work? Did you start with prose or poetry all those years ago? Thank you.
Michael
asked
Margaret Atwood:
When I read Cat's Eye for the first time, it resonated with something deep within me and made me think about many different episodes growing up. I always wondered what writing that novel was like for you. Do you find it emotionally draining to tap into those kinds of memories/thoughts? Do you ever find a scene too difficult to write about?
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