Manuscript Collection - Margaret Atwood Papers

Margaret Atwood Papers Margaret Atwood Papers Margaret Atwood Papers Margaret Atwood Papers Margaret Atwood Papers Margaret Atwood Papers Margaret Atwood Papers Margaret Atwood Papers Margaret Atwood Papers Margaret Atwood Papers Margaret Atwood Papers Margaret Atwood Papers Margaret Atwood Papers Margaret Atwood Papers Margaret Atwood Papers

Identity area

Reference code

Title

Margaret Atwood Papers

Date(s)

Level of description

Manuscript Collection

Extent and medium

717 boxes and items (106 metres)

Context area

Name of creator

(1939-)

Biographical history

Margaret Eleanor "Peggy" Atwood is a novelist, poet, literary critic, essayist, teacher, environmental activist, and a pioneer of Canadian women's writing. She was born November 18, 1939 in Ottawa and grew up in northern Ontario, Quebec, and Toronto.

She earned a B.A. in English from Victoria College, University of Toronto, and an M.A. from Harvard. Atwood has had a distinguished career in teaching including positions at the University of British Columbia (1964-1965), Sir George Williams University (Concordia University) (1967-1968), York University (1971-1972) and New York University (1986). Her first book of poetry, Double Persephone, was published in 1961, followed by The Circle Games (1966), which won the Governor General’s Award in Poetry. She published her first novel, The Edible Woman in 1969, and subsequently wrote Procedures for Underground (1970) and The Journals of Susanna Moodie (1970). Her most well-known novels include: The Handmaid’s Tale (1985), The Robber Bride (1994), Alias Grace (1996), the Blind Assassin (2000), which was the Booker Prize, and Orynx and Crake (2003). Her complete and up-to date bibliography can be accessed here: http://margaretatwood.ca/full-bibliography-2/. Her work has been translated into many languages and published in more than twenty-five countries.

Among her numerous honors and awards are the Governor General’s Award, the Booker Prize, the Arthur C. Clarke Award, a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Molson Award, the Ida Nudel Humanitarian Award, and a Canada Short Fiction Award. She was named a Companion of the Order of Canada in 1981 and inducted into Canada’s Walk of Fame in 2001. She has served as a Writer-In-Residence at the University of Toronto (1972-1973), Mcquarrie University (1987) and Trinity University (1989). She has previously worked as an editor at Anansi Press (1971-1973), is a founder of the Writers’ Trust of Canada and was President of PEN Canada (1984-1986). She lives in Toronto.

Archival history

Immediate source of acquisition or transfer

Content and structure area

Scope and content

The collection consists of drafts and final typescripts of literary works, original art work, correspondence, juvenilia, printed appearances, printed material, critical and audio-visual material, and works about Atwood.

Appraisal, destruction and scheduling

Accruals

System of arrangement

Conditions of access and use area

Conditions governing access

Conditions governing reproduction

Language of material

Script of material

Language and script notes

Physical characteristics and technical requirements

Finding aids

Allied materials area

Existence and location of originals

Existence and location of copies

Related units of description

Notes area

Alternative identifier(s)

Access points

Subject access points

Place access points

Name access points

Genre access points

Description control area

Description identifier

Institution identifier

Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library, University of Toronto

Rules and/or conventions used

Dates of creation revision deletion

Language(s)

Script(s)

Sources

Accession area

Related subjects

Related people and organizations

Related genres

Related places