“Margaret Atwood Is No “Prophet of Dystopia.” She’s Just Studying History” - shondaland

Published: Mar 14, 2023

The prolific, award-winning writer discusses her latest short story collection, “Old Babes in the Wood,” and its intimate look at a long-term relationship.

Once when Margaret Atwood was young, her parents invited eager Mormon missionaries into their home (a scenario that seems all but foreign to us now). “Mum and dad loved to have people in and listen to what they had to say,” she says on a call from her office in Toronto. The elder Atwoods listened politely before thanking the young men and agreeing to a prayer. But when one of the missionaries asked the Heavenly Father to “please grant Margaret and Carl another 50 years of married bliss,” Margaret Atwood, senior, cut in. “My mother said, ‘No, no, that’s too much!’”

At 83, the prolific author makes the same protest when I talk about something 20 years in the future: “Too much!” But Atwood is keeping plenty busy writing, traveling, and dreaming about our collective future.

Atwood has been declared a “prophet of dystopia,” becoming revered for her speculative sagas The Handmaid’s Tale and the MaddAddam trilogy. But she’s been writing across several genres and a half dozen mediums since the ’60s, and her newest collection of short stories, titled Old Babes in the Wood, is a great reminder of her mastery of intimate, realistic literary fiction.

Email: shelbi.e.polk@gmail.com
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