Lucky me, last week I interviewed Margaret Atwood for Writers Rebel.
In the days before this, I kept thinking, ‘What would I ask George Orwell, if I got the chance?’
This changed to, ‘Fuck, it’s Margaret Atwood – isn’t that enough?’
I also thought, ‘Is Margaret Atwood the most obviously canonized writer alive?’
It’s pretty hard to imagine The Handmaid’s Tale (not to mention all her other novels, short stories and poems) being forgotten in five or six generations.
I’d been warned that Atwood could be harsh. And it’s true that if you misspeak, she picks you up on it. If you’re intellectually lazy, you’ll receive correction. But she was engaged, energized and full of good sense.
Not everything she said was what Extinction Rebellion would want her to say – she’s about sensibly transitioning away from oil, rather than dropping it within two or three years.
But she was more than happy to hold up our poster –
Incidentally, those words are the banner under which Writers Rebel will be gathering on April 15th.
I’ll be there, if you’re able to make it along. So will all these good people:
A few days later, I took part in this panel on writing, publishing, independence and game-writing for the University of Bedford. It was great to hear from Adam Croft and Emily Short about their kinds of writing. (Thanks to Tim Jarvis for inviting me.)
I spoke a bit about A Writer’s Diary, which is ongoing. In fact, I think it’s getting to what I think are the really good bits.
You can sign up here.
https://awritersdiary.substack.com/friends
Until next time.
tobylitt 