Quote

The genesis of a poem for me is usually a cluster of words. The only good metaphor I can think of is a scientific one: dipping a thread into a supersaturated solution to induce crystal formation. I don't think I solve problems in my poetry I think I uncover the problems.

Margaret Atwood

Change background

T
T
T

Change font

TAGS & TOPICS

Margaret Atwood
Age: 85
Born: 1939
Born: November 18
Essayist
Inventor
Literary Critic
Non-Fiction Writer
Novelist
Pedagogue
Poet
Science Fiction Writer
Writer
Ottawa (Ontario)
Margaret Eleanor Atwood
Words
Poem
Induce
Problem
Solution
Uncover
Good
Scientific
Crystal
Think
Solve
Genesis
Thinking
Solutions
Crystals
Usually
Formation
Dipping
Poetry
Thread
Cluster
Problems
Metaphor
Clusters

More quotes by Margaret Atwood

Image
There is something powerful in the whispering of obscenities, about those in power. There's something delightful about it, something naughty, secretive, forbidden, thrilling. It's like a spell, of sorts. It deflates them, reduces them to the common denominator where they can be dealt.
Margaret Atwood
Image
My brother and I were both good at science, and we were both good at English literature. Either one of us could have gone either way.
Margaret Atwood
Image
You may not be able to alter reality, but you can alter your attitude towards it, and this, paradoxically, alters reality. Try it and see.
Margaret Atwood
Image
I grew up amongst biologists.
Margaret Atwood
Image
Hunger is a powerful reorganizer of the conscience.
Margaret Atwood
Image
But maybe boredom is erotic, when women do it, for men.
Margaret Atwood
Image
I would like to believe this is a story I’m telling. I need to believe it. I must believe it. Those who can believe that such stories are only stories have a better chance. If it’s a story I’m telling, then I have control over the ending. Then there will be an ending, to the story, and real life will come after it. I can pick up where I left off.
Margaret Atwood
Image
But some people can't tell where it hurts. They can't calm down. They can't ever stop howling.
Margaret Atwood
Image
He doesn't know which is worse, a past he can't regain or a present that will destroy him if he looks at it too clearly. Then there's the future. Sheer vertigo.
Margaret Atwood
Image
...how much needless despair has been caused by a series of biological mismatches, a misalignment of the hormones and pheromones? Resulting in the fact that the one you love so passionately won't or can't love you. As a species we're pathetic that way: imperfectly monogamous.
Margaret Atwood
Image
There is so much going on all over the world that it's impossible for one person to keep up. And I can't.
Margaret Atwood
Image
I did not know how to paint or even what to paint, but I knew I had to begin.
Margaret Atwood
Image
If it's a story I'm telling, then I have control over the ending... But if it's a story, even in my head, I must be telling it to someone. You don't tell a story only to yourself. There's always someone else. Even when there is no one.
Margaret Atwood
Image
It is my contention that the process of reading is part of the process of writing, the necessary completion without which writing can hardly be said to exist.
Margaret Atwood
Image
You can think clearly only with your clothes on.
Margaret Atwood
Image
It's his word against the Commander's, unless he wants to head a posse. Kick in the door, and what did I tell you? Caught in the act, sinfully Scrabbling. Quick, eat those words.
Margaret Atwood
Image
I am not your justification for existence.
Margaret Atwood
Image
I particularly like Twitter, because it's short and can be very funny and informative. It's a little bit like having your own radio program.
Margaret Atwood
Image
If a stranger taps you on the ass and says, How's the little lady today! you will probably cringe. But if he's an American, he's only being friendly.
Margaret Atwood
Image
We are very short on organs, and the pig solution is probably a lot better than the human clone solution - though maybe not for the pigs.
Margaret Atwood