Good Bones | Margaret Atwood - English - LibGuides at Lowther Hall Anglican Grammar School

Margaret Atwood

"Margaret Atwood is a Canadian poet, novelist, literary critic, essayist, inventor, teacher and environmental activist. She has published seventeen books of poetry, sixteen novels, ten books of non-fiction, eight collections of short fiction, eight children's books, and one graphic novel, as well as a number of small press editions in poetry and fiction. Atwood and her writing have won numerous awards and honors including the Man Booker Prize, Arthur C. Clarke Award, Governor General's Award, Franz Kafka Prize, and the National Book Critics and PEN Center USA Lifetime Achievement Awards.

As a novelist and poet, Atwood's works encompass a variety of themes including the power of language, gender and identity, religion and myth, climate change, and "power politics." Many of her poems are inspired by myths and fairy tales which interested her from a very early age."

Source: Wikipedia

Britannica School: Margaret Atwood
This biography provides a great overview of Atwood's life and of the themes that feature in her written works.
The New Yorker: Margaret Atwood, the Prophet of Dystopia
"Her fiction has imagined societies riddled with misogyny, oppression, and environmental havoc. These visions now feel all too real."

Video: Margaret Atwood's Top 5 Writing Tips

We're excited to present the full, extended interview with Margaret Atwood conducted by our Young Ambassadors Emily Webb and Grace Murray earlier in the year. The interview covers everything from how Margaret started writing, why her novels tackle such challenging subjects and her top 5 tips for new writers.

Duration: 17:45

Original Texts

The Little Red Hen
This version of the folk tale The Little Red Hen was written by Florence White Williams and published in 1918.
Hamlet, Act III Scene IV
The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark (often referred to simply as Hamlet) was written by William Shakespeare between 1599-1601, and this edition of the play was first published in 1914.

An excerpt from the 2009 film adaptation of the Royal Shakespeare Company's 2008 modern-dress stage production of Hamlet.

Duration: 4:30

The Short Story As a Literary Form

Britannica School: Short story
This article provides an analysis of the short story genre and discusses the history of short stories.
Elements of a Short Story
This guide discusses the different narrative elements in short stories, including setting, characterisation, plot & structure, narrator & point of view, style and theme.

History & Conventions of Fairy Tales

BBC: Where Do Fairy Tales Come From?
Everyone knows them – but how do they come to be? And why are they similar all over the world? In an excerpt from her new book, academic and writer Marina Warner investigates.
Elements Found in Fairy Tales
Fairy tales with very similar plots, characters, and motifs are found spread across many different cultures. This document lists many of the common elements which are found in fairy tales.
Conventions of Fairy Tales
This page from Missouri Southern State University's library discusses a lot of the common elements which can be found in fairy tales.

Good Bones by Margaret Atwood
ISBN: 9781844086924
These wise and witty writings home in on Shakespeare, tree stumps, ecological disasters, bodies (male and female), the future and theology, amongst other matters. We hear Gertrude's version of what really happened in Hamlet; an ugly sister and a wicked stepmother put in a good word for themselves; and a reincarnated bat explains how Bram Stoker got Dracula all wrong. Good Bones is pure distilled Atwood - deliciously strong and bittersweet.
Eating Fire: Selected Poetry, 1965-1995 by Margaret Atwood
ISBN: 9781844086931
The evolution of Margaret Atwood's poetry illuminates a major literary talent. 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. In this volume, two previous selections, Poems 1965-1975 and Poems 1976-1986 are presented together with Morning in the Burned House.
Wilderness Tips by Margaret Atwood
ISBN: 9781853813955
Richly layered and disturbing, poignant at times and scathingly witty at others, the stories in Wilderness Tips take us into the strange and secret places of the heart and inform the familiar world in which we live with truths that cut to the bone.
The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
ISBN: 9780099511663
A look at the near future presents the story of Offred, a Handmaid in the Republic of Gilead, once the United States, an oppressive world where women are no longer allowed to read and are valued only as long as they are viable for reproduction.
On Writers and Writing by Margaret Atwood
ISBN: 9780349006239
What is the role of the writer? Prophet? High Priest of Art? Court Jester? Or witness to the real world? Looking back on her own childhood and the development of her writing career, Margaret Atwood examines the metaphors which writers of fiction and poetry have used to explain - or excuse - their activities, looking at what costumes they have seen fit to assume, what roles they have chosen to play.
The Art of the Story by Daniel Halpern (Editor)
ISBN: 9780140296389
An anthology featuring contemporary masters of the short story around the globe, including Margaret Atwood, Salman Rushdie, Joyce Carol Oates, Martin Amis, and more. The Art of the Story combines the best of the established masters as well as the fresh, new voices of writers whose work has seldom been translated into English.
Grimms' Fairy Tales by Brothers Grimm
ISBN: 9780140366969
Merry, dark or magical, these classic tales never fail to inspire and enthrall. From the land of fantastical castles, vast lakes and deep forests, the Brothers Grimm collected a treasury of entrancing folk and fairy stories full of giants and dwarfs, witches and princesses, magic beasts and cunning boys. From favourites such as 'The Frog-Prince' and 'Hansel and Gretel' to the delights of 'Ashputtel' or 'Old Sultan', all are vivid with timeless mystery.
The Rose and the Beast by Francesca Lia Block
ISBN: 9780060281298
With language that is both lyrical and distinctly her own, Francesca Lia Block turns nine fairy tales inside out. Escaping the poisoned apple, Snow frees herself from possession to find the truth of love in an unexpected place. A club girl from L.A., awakening from a long sleep to the memories of her past, finally finds release from its curse. And Beauty learns that Beasts can understand more than men. Within these singular, timeless landscapes, the brutal and the magical collide, and the heroine triumphs because of the strength she finds in a pen, a paintbrush, a lover, a friend, a mother, and finally, in herself.
The Singing Bones : Inspired by Grimms' Fairy Tales by Shaun Tan
ISBN: 9781760111038
In this beautifully presented volume, the essence of seventy-five fairy tales by the Brothers Grimm is wonderfully evoked by Shaun Tan's extraordinary sculptures. Nameless princes, wicked stepsisters, greedy kings, honourable peasants and ruthless witches, tales of love, betrayal, adventure and magical transformation: all inspiration for this stunning gallery of sculptural works.

English: Good Bones | Margaret Atwood

Margaret Atwood

Video: Margaret Atwood's Top 5 Writing Tips

Original Texts

The Short Story As a Literary Form

History & Conventions of Fairy Tales

Further Reading