Atwood as Critic; Critics on Atwood

Abstract

Given Atwood’s literary philosophy concerning the morality of language and the political responsibility of the artist, which has been the focus of the foregoing chapters, the reader is right to expect that philosophy predominates in Atwood’s critical books and essays as well. In spite of Atwood’s disclaimers that she is not primarily a literary critic, that she prefers other kinds of writing, and that critical writing is ‘too much like homework’ (Second Words, 11), her achievements in this area are nevertheless significant. With the publication of Survival: A Thematic Guide to Canadian Literature, a volume she modestly describes as a guide for ‘students and teachers in high schools, community colleges and universities’ (11), Atwood helped to put Canada on the literary world map and contributed to an impetus for Canadian nationalism. As the author of other book reviews descriptive of the works of Canadian authors, many of which are collected in Second Words, Atwood contributed to an international recognition of the fact of a Canadian literary identity. With her reviews of books by women authors from Canada as well as from the United States, Atwood advanced the cause of a growing feminist literary tradition. Atwood as critic, then, is almost as influential as Atwood as poet and novelist.