Writing with Intent: Essays, Reviews, Personal Prose, 1983-2005

As the title explains, this is a collection of Atwood's non-fiction writing -- fifty-eight pieces, to be exact. They cover a vast range of topics, as one would expect from this author of vast interests. And as expected, she covers these topics with her usual deft way with words, her sly humour, and her calm wisdom.

Some of the pieces that stood out for me:
"Laughter vs. Death" (originally published as "Atwood on Pornography" in Chatelaine, Sept 1983
"In Search of Alias Grace: On Writing Canadian Historical Fiction
"To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf" (Originally published as "The Indelible Woman", the Guardian, Sept 7, 2002.)
"Letter to America," (originally published in the Nation, April 14, 2003)

Recommended for: people who like to read show more intelligent non-fiction cultural pieces. show less

Margaret Atwood has long been one of my favorite authors. This book compiles many short writings of hers-book reviews, remembrances of the writing process, commentaries about current events, introductions and afterwords for other works. In addition to learning a great deal about what influences Atwoods writings (for examples, she was in the midst of writing [Oryx and Crake] when 9/11 happened), I learned about her passion for other writers. Her opinions of other works of literature and her insight into how they matter now is an inspiration for any bibliophile. This is an excellent book for anyone trying to look deeper into Atwood's writings-true, [Handmaid's Tale] is an amazing novel, but after this book, it is possible to understand show more how Gilead was formed-everything from the kind of dystopia she'd create to the outfits worn.

I'd recommend this, primarily, to anyone enamoured of Atwood's writing and eager to look deeper into her mind. show less

Margaret Atwood is an insightful, thoughtful writer. These essays and reviews were great.

"Los escritores, tanto hombres como mujeres, han de ser egoístas para tener tiempo de escribir, pero las mujeres no están entrenadas para ser egoístas...", comenta Margaret Atwood en estas páginas, y si ella lo dice debe ser cierto, porque la autora lleva más de 30 años dedicada a la escritura, y las piezas reunidas en este libro son una buena muestra de lo que se cuece en su mente cuando se enfrenta a la página en blanco.
Empezando por el primero de estos textos, que aborda el rol de la mujer como escritora, como lectora y como protagonista de una novela, pasando por sus reflexiones acerca del trabajo de Virginia Woolf y de George Orwell, y acabando con la magnífica "Carta a América", que la autora escribió a raíz de la show more invasión de Irak, estos breves ensayos hablan de literarura, pero consiguen atar el oficio de escribir al oficio de vivir. Así se explica que tengamos entre mano sun libro vital, cargado de anécdotas, donde el sentido común y el humor de esta gran mujer tienen tanto valor como su talento de narradora. show less