I should declare my biases up front here. I think Margaret Atwood is probably the best writer that Canada has ever produced for loads of different reasons (I’m probably the only evangelical pastor who thinks this). Her poetry and novels are incredible. Her work as an editor putting together anthologies of Canadian literature and now her foray into non-fiction with a new book about debt are just a few reasons.

 

Art is not a universal (sorry purists). Art is a combination of talent and timing (Andy Warhol would agree). Some art sits unrecognized for decades before people begin to be drawn to it. This is because the artist’s timing was off. To be polite we often say the artist was "ahead of their time" which is really a euphemism for "nobody liked it until they were dead". One of the reasons Margaret Atwood is the great artist she is has as much to do with her timing as it does with her talent. Her novels in the 70’s that chronicled what it was like growing up woman in Canada in that age were perfectly timed for where the culture was.

 

Her classic novel The Handmaid’s Tale was partly an exploration of where a Reagan/Thatcher world might go if left unchecked and it was published at the perfect time. Now – her latest work is called – Payback: Debt and the Shadow Side of Wealth. I REALLY want to read this (then again, I really want to read just about everything). This book grew out of her commitment to the upcoming Massey Lectures and was borne out of ideas she had as far back as 2003. As we sit in midst of seismic global economic change Atwood proves her talent as an artist once again by landing an apt book at just the right time. Other books that will be published over the coming months by more opportunistic types may get the timing right but they will lack the other critical ingredient that could categorize them as artists – talent. Atwood has both.

 

Atwood will be in Winnipeg delivering her Massey lecture on debt next week. I hope to be there. The details are:

Friday, October 17 – Winnipeg, Manitoba
8:00 pm, Pantages Playhouse
Tickets: General $20, students and seniors $10, High school and under 17, $5. Plus local taxes and fees.
Contact Ticketmaster for more details.

If anybody wants to go with me or meet me there let me know. Maybe I can get her to sign one of my books.