The Animals in that Country by Margaret Atwood
One of the joys of our club reads is that they prompt so much digging in the stacks and researching into books to read. And while I was digging about for 1968 I realised that one of the wonderful Margaret Atwood’s poetry books had been published in that year – which was very exciting…
Atwood’s poetry is a place I haven’t gone before; I love her fiction and non-fiction writings of all sorts, but for some reason have never picked up the selected poetry volume of hers I own. Unfortunately, getting hold of a copy of the actual 1968 book, “The Animals in that Country” has proved beyond me at the moment, as they’re so expensive, so I’ve had to go with those poems which made it into the “Selected” volume…
I am the space you desecrate
as you pass through.
There are 14 works extracted from the original collection and in fact it’s worth reminding ourselves that Atwood started her writing career as a poet – her first collection was published in 1961 and this was her fifth. I’m not sure quite what I was expecting from Margaret Atwood’s poetry but it was the kind of verse that appealed to me from the start – beautifully written, immediate and very thought-provoking.
Her subjects range from riffing on Frankenstein and his monster, through the vagaries of living in rented accommodation to the dangers of reading newspapers, and always in a particularly Atwoodian turn of phrase and mind. A particular stand-out for me was “I Was Reading a Scientific Article”, a love poem inspired by an image of the brain, which was very resonant. In fact, there are several very beautiful love poems, including this short one which I want to share here:
Axiom
Axiom: you are a sea.
Your eye-
lids curve over chaos.My hands
where they touch you, create
small inhabited islandsSoon you will be
all earth: a known
land, a country.
The 14 titles I read here were all marvellous, and have left me itching to explore more of this book. I really don’t know why I haven’t read Atwood’s poetry before (I know that Middle Child has – in fact, I think she has this book too), particularly as this was the first form her published writing took.
So – a successful first read for the #1968club. There is a short interview with Atwood on the CBC site here from 1968, where she discusses poetry, and it’s worth hearing (in fact, the CBC site seems to have a number of Atwood recordings to be explored). And if I wasn’t focusing on 1968 this week I suspect I’d be pulling more Atwood books off the shelf!! 🙂
Café Society
Oct 31, 2017 @ 08:23:36
I’m not certain I even knew that Atwood wrote poetry, although why I should be surprised I don’t know. Another for the tbr pile.
kaggsysbookishramblings
Oct 31, 2017 @ 09:37:01
Definitely – her poetry is just fabulous!
madamebibilophile
Oct 31, 2017 @ 09:03:01
Wonderful post Karen 🙂 I read a lot of her poetry when I first discovered her, but I haven’t read it much since, which means its been decades! I will go and dust off some of the volumes I’ve got, you’ve reminded me how accomplished her poetry is.
kaggsysbookishramblings
Oct 31, 2017 @ 09:22:04
Thanks Madame B! I’m certainly keen to read more of her work – marvellous!
Naomi
Oct 31, 2017 @ 11:58:30
The only volume of Atwood’s poetry that I’ve read is The Journals of Susanna Moodie. And mostly because of my interest in Susanna Moodie. But also because I was interested in Margaret Atwood’s interest in Susanna Moodie – what aspects of her and her story did Atwood want to write about? I think that one was published in 1970.
I think your ‘selected’ poetry book might be the way to go!
And thanks for linking to the 1968 interview – it’s amazing how much the same she sounds to me all these years later.
kaggsysbookishramblings
Oct 31, 2017 @ 13:54:44
Yes, definitely I need to explore her poetry more, and this volume seems spot on. The 1968 interview is great, isn’t it? I just love Atwood!
Caroline
Oct 31, 2017 @ 14:03:57
I don’t think I’ve read her poetry and always forget she was a poet first.
This puts me in the mood, to see if I can find some.
I just realized I missed participating again. I only found one Ursula K. LeGuin novel I hadn’t read yet but wasn’t in the mood for it. But there’s always a next time, right?
kaggsysbookishramblings
Oct 31, 2017 @ 14:08:16
I wondered how I would find her verse and I loved it, fortunately. Never mind about missing the club – I’m sure we’ll be holding another one in 6 months’ time! 🙂
chrisharding53
Oct 31, 2017 @ 14:23:12
I’ve not read this collection, but I have Morning in the Burned House, which I dip into occasionally – I rather like her poetry.
kaggsysbookishramblings
Oct 31, 2017 @ 19:15:26
It’s very memorable certainly – I shall definitely be dipping in more.
1streading
Oct 31, 2017 @ 19:37:34
I’ve read a lot of Atwood’s fiction but none of her poetry. I do like to see writers succeed in both genres (like John Burnside and Adam Thorpe) but it’s surprisingly rare.
kaggsysbookishramblings
Oct 31, 2017 @ 20:06:23
It is – maybe the fact that Atwood started as a poet has allowed that to inform her prose, which certainly I find unique and unforgettable.
Kat
Nov 01, 2017 @ 01:41:13
Loved the poem! And when I looked up Atwood to see if she’d published in 1968 I apparently missed her poetry. She has written many poems about women in myth, and I used to teach some of them along with Ovid. (And, believe it or not, I once got in trouble for it with a parent.)
kaggsysbookishramblings
Nov 01, 2017 @ 08:45:53
As far as I’m concerned, the main problem with teaching is the parents….
Kat
Nov 01, 2017 @ 14:53:03
LOL!
heavenali
Nov 01, 2017 @ 07:29:42
Well done for combing the LT author of the month with the 1968 club.
kaggsysbookishramblings
Nov 01, 2017 @ 08:44:49
:))) I do my best!
Liz Dexter
Nov 01, 2017 @ 08:42:05
Oh, lovely, I knew she wrote poetry but haven’t read any myself. As Ali said, good work getting the Virago LT author of the month and 1968 club combined!
kaggsysbookishramblings
Nov 01, 2017 @ 08:43:55
:)))) Yes, I timed that well! :))
Simon T
Nov 01, 2017 @ 21:38:08
I had no idea she wrote poetry! Or even that she wrote as far back as 1968. Great choice, Karen!
kaggsysbookishramblings
Nov 02, 2017 @ 08:31:42
I think I only really knew this when Middle Child picked up a copy of this book when we were in London one time. I like her poetry very, very much so this will be the perfect book for dipping into!
#1968Club – Stuck in a Book
Nov 01, 2017 @ 22:23:11
buriedinprint
Nov 07, 2017 @ 21:14:22
Aren’t the CBC Archives fantastic in a situation like this? It seems almost unbelievable to have this access across the years and, in this case, so interesting to compare her speaking style now and then. (And she is so forthright here, isn’t she?!) There is a series called “Telescope” which is gathered there, which features a variety of Canadian authors, and I love rewatching those – even though the interviewer and his style and stereotypical ideas about women writers are often unintentionally comedic!
kaggsysbookishramblings
Nov 08, 2017 @ 09:05:02
The Internet truly holds some real treasures – I’m constantly surprised by what I can see. Archive films like these were in the realms of dreams back in the day…. 🙂