Rendevous with Atwood


One of the best things about being enrolled into a writing program is some of the opportunities that it brings in the form of literary events. I have always enjoyed listening to authors and hearing about their thoughts on writing process. 

Last week, there was one such session with Author Margaret Atwood. Incidentally her book of short stories titled 'Moral Disorder' is prescribed as a part of my syllabus this quarter. The session began with addressing the crazy times that we were living in. It then went on to talk about the aspects of deep reading. Something that I usually do while interviewing an author or when the book is up for discussion in my class. You read a book once and then read it for the second time, looking for certain, crafts, techniques or themes that the author is trying to portray. 

Another important aspect about Margaret Atwood is that she grew up during the time of World War 2-an era of gloom. This probably reflected in her writings and her stories were bound to have an element of grief. When she was asked to name her favorite childhood book, she asked which part of childhood as childhood at the age of 5 is different from childhood at the age of 11.  It ended on a light note with that talk on astrology where she quipped saying that she was a scorpio with Gemini rising. Her sense of humor was just delightful and it was a pleasure listening to her. 

Moral Disorder is a collection of stories revolving around the same protagonist from her childhood till her twilight years. It addresses the nuances of complexity in relationships, dysfunctional family dynamics and mental illness. Her session certainly helped me delve deep into the book.

While technology seems to made the world a lot more compact especially during this pandemic, one thing that I miss is meeting the author in person and getting my copy signed by them.  This would have definitely happened, considering that the event was supposed to take place just 45 minutes from where I live. Praying that the world goes back to normal soon and this perennial disorder of covid is set right. 

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