Negotiating With The Dead: A Writer On Writing, by Margaret Atwood
Cambridge University Press $210
THERE IS AN OLD saying that every person has a good book hidden inside them and that is a good place for it to stay. Canadian author Margaret Atwood's latest book reminds us of just that fact.
She points out that while many people can write, few are Writers, in the capital 'W' sense of the word.
The observation sets the stage for Atwood to explain the people, process and culture behind her craft and how there is more to writing than defacing paper with ink.
The book is Atwood's first since The Blind Assassin, which won the 2000 Booker Prize. Although initially it may appear to be an autobiography, or even a 'how to' book for aspiring writers, Negotiating With The Dead is neither.
This is a work drawn from a series of Empson lectures that the author gave at Britain's University of Cambridge in 2000. The material has been reworked (Atwood says she removed the jokes) but the lecture hall feel permeates the pages from start to finish.