Atwood to explore the many faces of Canada
Celebrated author, poet and environmental activist Margaret Atwood is set to deliver the third annual Hurtig Lecture on the Future of Canada Oct. 1 at the Winspear Theatre.
This centenary signature event, entitled Which Canada?, focuses on the challenges and choices confronting Canadians in the early 21st century, including intellectual and technological innovation. “Margaret Atwood is unquestionably a leading Canadian thinker and engaged citizen,” said Janine Brodie, Canada Research Chair in Political Economy and Social Governance. “Throughout her distinguished and widely acclaimed career, she has sparked our imaginations and animated public debate about such critical questions as gender equality, national identities, public support for the arts and environmental sustainability.”
Atwood has penned numerous highly acclaimed novels, poetry collections and short fiction collections that have led to numerous honours, including the man Booker Prize for The Handmaid’s Tale and The Blind Assassin. Her work also has been recognized with the Arthur C. Clarke Award, the Governor General’s Award in fiction and in poetry, the Dashiell Hammett Award, the Giller Prize and the Le Chevalier dans l’Ordre de Arts et Les Lettres.
Atwood is also an engaged Canadian citizen, making her a perfect fit for the Hurtig Lecture, launched in 2005 to honour Mel Hurtig, an example of engaged Canadian citizenship, who, while deeply rooted in the broader Edmonton community, has significantly shaped Canadians’ knowledge of themselves and their country.
The primary goal of the Hurtig Lecture series is to build a national platform where academics, students, opinion leaders and the broader community together can debate Canada’s role in a complex and interdependent world. Distinguished Canadian journalists Peter C. Newman and Heather Mallick delivered previous Hurtig lectures.
Brodie says that throughout her distinguished career, Atwood has animated and challenged public dialogue and thinking of a wide range of issues, among them feminism, social activism, the artist’s role in society, public support for the arts and the environment.
“Through her writing and social activism, Atwood has invited us to imagine alternative futures by exploring the implications of the choices that we make in the present,” said Brody.
Tickets for the Hurtig Lecture are $25 and can be purchased at the Winspear box office. See the event listing.
This article originally appeared in the University of Alberta’s publication Folio.
Photo credit: George Whiteside