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Margaret Atwood Facts & Worksheets

Born on November 16, 1939 in Ottawa, Ontario, Margaret Atwood — considered one of Canada’s greatest living writers — is a poet, essayist, fictionist, novelist, and environmental activist.

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Born on November 16, 1939 in Ottawa, Ontario, Margaret Atwood — considered one of Canada’s greatest living writers — is a poet, essayist, fictionist, novelist, and environmental activist. Her books have been widely recognized in the United States, Europe, and Canada. Known for her feminist perspective, Atwood has received various literary awards, including the Booker Prize, Arthur C. Clarke Award, and the Governor General’s Award.

See the fact file below for more information on the Margaret Atwood or alternatively, you can download our 22-page Margaret Atwood worksheet pack to utilise within the classroom or home environment.

Key Facts & Information

PERSONAL LIFE

  • Margaret Eleanor Atwood is the daughter of Carl Edmund Atwood, a forest entomologist, and Margaret Dorothy Killam, a former dietician and nutritionist from Woodville, Nova Scotia. She has a younger sister, Ruth Atwood, who was born in 1951, and an older brother, Harold Leslie Atwood.
  • Due to her father’s entomological research, Atwood spent part of her childhood in the northern woods of Quebec, traveling back and forth between Ottawa, Sault Ste. Marie, and Toronto.
  • At the age of six, she began writing poems and plays. Similarly, she developed a love for painting during her early years, which would later be evident in her own designs of the Canadian covers of her books of poetry. She also became part of the Brownie program of Girl Guides of Canada.
  • Until she was 13 years old, Atwood did not attend grade school full-time. After her family moved to Toronto, she studied in Leaside High School and graduated in 1957.
  • Consequently, she took her bachelor’s degree at Victoria College in the University of Toronto, where she managed to publish her poems and articles in her college literary journal, Acta Victoriana. In her sophomore year, she performed in The Bob Comedy Revue.
  • After earning her BA in English and minors in philosophy and French in 1961, Atwood pursued her graduate studies at Radcliffe College of Harvard University, as a recipient of the Woodrow Wilson fellowship. She finished her MA a year later.
  • Although she continued to take doctoral studies for about two years, Atwood was not able to finish her dissertation, The English Metaphysical Romance.
  • In 1968, she married American writer Jim Polk but they eventually separated in 1973. She had a relationship with Graeme Gibson, a fellow novelist, and later moved to a farm near Alliston, Ontario. In 1976, Atwood gave birth to their child, Eleanor Jess Atwood Gibson.
  • In 1980, the family went back to Toronto. Gibson died on September 18, 2019, following a battle with dementia.
  • In her poetry collection Dearly, Atwood wrote about her husband. She also talked about her grieving process in an accompanying essay and poem published in The Guardian in 2020.

CAREER

  • In the 1960s, Margaret Atwood became the focus of public attention when her poetry collections Double Persephone (self-published, 1961) and The Circle Game (1964) won the EJ Pratt Medal and the Governor General’s Award, respectively.
  • The Canadian novelist and poet explores a wide range of writings, including short stories, children’s literature, screenplays, radio scripts, and critical studies. In fact, her works have been translated into over 30 languages.
  • Her critical essays and reviews have also been published in well-known magazines and journals. She has edited a variety of books, such as The New Oxford Book of Canadian Verse in English (1983) and The Oxford Book of Canadian Short Stories in English (1986), along with Robert Weaver.
  • Since 1972, Atwood has been teaching English, along with other academic posts, while remaining a full-time writer and receiving numerous writing residencies. From 1981 to 1982, she served as the president of the Writers Union of Canada. From 1984 to 1986, she was Pen Canada’s president.
  • After publishing her first books of poetry, Atwood released more collections, such as Interlunar (1988), Morning in the Burned House (1995), and Eating Fire: Selected Poetry, 1965-1995 (1998). Her short fiction includes Dancing Girls and Other Stories (1982), Wilderness Tips (1991), and Good Bones (1992).
  • In 1969, she published her first novel, The Edible Woman. This was eventually followed by numerous novel publications, including Surfacing (1973), Lady Oracle (1977), Life Before Man (1980), Bodily Harm (1982), and of course, The Handmaid’s Tale (1986), nominated for the Booker Prize for Fiction, which she is most known for.
  • Her other novels include Cat’s Eye (1989), The Robber Bride (1993), Alias Grace (1996), and The Blind Assassin (2000). Cat’s Eye and Alias Grace were also shortlisted for the Booker Prize for Fiction; The Blind Assassin eventually won the award. Another book, Oryx and Crake, was shortlisted for the 2003 Man Booker Prize for Fiction and the 2004 Orange Prize for Fiction.
  • Due to her prominence, Atwood’s books have been adapted into plays, television shows, and films. In 2007, a television film based on The Robber Bride aired, and a television series based on Alias Grace aired in 2017.
  • The Edible Woman has also been adapted for the stage. Meanwhile, The Handmaid’s Tale has been translated into a film directed by Volker Schloendorff in 1990. Poul Ruders also made the novel into an opera, which was performed at the Coliseum, London in April 2003, and later became a television show in 2017.
  • A fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, Atwood has been presented with the Order of Ontario and the Norwegian Order of Literary Merit. She has also been awarded 16 honorary degrees.

FEMINISM

  • Atwood’s first two books in the 1960s laid the groundwork for her succeeding poetry. The parallels and contrasts between life and art, as well as natural and human creations, are examined in Double Persephone. The Circle Game, meanwhile, takes this conflict a step further, reimagining social and human constructs like games, literature, and love against nature’s transience.
  • However, various literary critics cite the feminist perspective in her works. She often creates strong, complex women characters and explores their struggles, as evident in The Edible Woman, Surfacing, Life before Man, Bodily Harm, and The Handmaid’s Tale.
  • Although she started as an apolitical writer, Atwood continues to dissect feminist ideas and the power structure that comes with them in her works. For instance, in The Robber Bride, Atwood discusses women’s positive and negative relationships with one another.
  • Apart from feminism, Atwood has been a strong supporter of social justice and environmentalism.
  • Atwood also engages in discussions concerning Canadian identity, pushing for discourses that distinguish Canadian literature from its American and British counterparts, as visible in Survival: A Thematic Guide to Canadian Literature (1972).
  • Furthermore, she claims that Canadian literature is largely concerned with victims and their desire to withstand unforgiving situations. Atwood insists that a writer must work deliberately within his or her country’s literary heritage. Her works strongly parallel the themes she views as prevalent in Canadian literature.

Margaret Atwood Worksheets

This is a fantastic bundle which includes everything you need to know about Margaret Atwood across 22 in-depth pages. These are ready-to-use Margaret Atwood worksheets that are perfect for teaching students about Margaret Atwood — considered one of Canada’s greatest living writers — who is a poet, essayist, fictionist, novelist, and environmental activist. Her books have been widely recognized in the United States, Europe, and Canada. Known for her feminist perspective, Atwood has received various literary awards, including the Booker Prize, Arthur C. Clarke Award, and the Governor General’s Award.

Complete List Of Included Worksheets

  • Margaret Atwood Facts
  • Find the Words
  • Complete the Information
  • Life of Margaret Atwood
  • Margaret Atwood’s Literary Career
  • Works of Margaret Atwood
  • Quote Analysis
  • Accomplishments and Achievements
  • Literary Work that Resonates with Me
  • Margaret Atwood Legacy
  • In a Nutshell

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