After a long summer break, CWLC members were eager to attend Doloris D.’s presentation on Margaret Atwood—one of Canada’s most renowned writers and icon of Canadian culture. Doloris’s presentation was a spectacular start to the 2025-2026 session and to the new theme of “Nominees for the Nobel Prize in Literature Who Never Won.”

Doloris reminded members that she previously presented on Atwood in 2012. With the club’s new theme, Doloris seized the opportunity to further her research and provide another in-depth presentation on one of her most-loved Canadian authors. 

Instead of concentrating on specific works by Atwood, Doloris chronicled the author’s upbringing and how it shapes her writing, and how her writing influences how she is perceived by the literary world—by fans, critics, and academics.

Margaret Atwood was born in 1939 in Ottawa. She was born into a close, intelligent, and active family who surrounded themselves in nature, learning, and literature. Atwood’s father, an entomologist, had a passion for the woods; therefore, the family split their time living in the northern Quebec wilderness and in the city. An early introduction to the Grimms’ Fairy Tales fed Atwood’s fascination with myth and how it relates to life. As a voracious reader, she was exposed to subjects including Canadian culture (what there was at the time) and colonialism. Pervasive gender stereotyping sparked her concern for female identity, which is addressed in many of her works. Atwood studied literature at the University of Toronto and Harvard, and her professors included Northrop Frye (literary critic) and Jay Macpherson (poet). 

Due to her public persona, her large and diverse oeuvre, and her stance on important and often controversial issues, Atwood has received labels such as “Mousy,” “Feminist,” “Man Hater,” “Dragon,” and “Sage.” 

Doloris shared that in addition to Atwood’s literary works, she is drawn to Atwood for her conservationism, dedication to helping writers, her numerous library projects, and her involvement with PEN International.

At eighty-five, Atwood has been considered a leading contender for the Nobel Prize in Literature on—perhaps—ten or more different occasions. Because nominees are not revealed for fifty years after the prize is awarded, there is no certainty if a writer has been nominated (unless they win). However, according to literary critics and various media sources, Atwood has been a “Nobel Favourite” for decades. Although Atwood has not received the Nobel Prize, she has been awarded numerous prizes including the Governor General’s Award, Giller Prize, and Booker Prize. 

The prolific, masterful, edgy, and humorous Margaret Atwood will be a guest speaker at Wordfest this December in Calgary.

Posted by Mooréa G.