Writing with Intent is Witty!

Writing With Intent: Essays, Reviews and Personal Prose is Canadian author Margaret Atwood's most recent publication. It is an eclectic and well-rounded collection of short, non-fiction pieces by Canada's most recognized author and includes everything from reviews, to eulogies, to diary-like entries that detail how she came up with ideas for her novels and how she wrote them. The collection includes pieces from the years1983 through the year 2005.

There are many qualities about Atwood that make her my all-time favorite authors: she is brilliant, witty and wise. Ms. Atwood is also gutsy, shrewd, awe-inspiring and fun. All of these qualities appear in her non-fiction, as well as her fiction and they were apparent in this collection as well.

The pieces that were my favorites revolved around her reviews and analyses of other authors' works. For instance, she reviewed Elmore Leonard's Tishomingo Blues as well as works by Toni Morrison and Gabriel Garcia Marquez. She did not shy away from giving an honest, open and forthcoming opinion of these works. Furthermore, Ms. Atwood's insights were unique and fun in every sense of the word: she was able to glean the strengths of each work and convey those strengths. However, she was also able to discuss the drawbacks of each work without sounding like she was demeaning the author of the work.

Another piece that I enjoyed immensely was Ms. Atwood's account of her trip to Afghanistan in 1978. I found the piece to be beautiful in its candidness and freshness. Ms. Atwood recounted, in a simple and straightforward manner, her experiences with the native Afghani citizens, again without passing judgment on the culture, religion and dress of the people. In fact, she was able to convey her impressions of the dress, religion and other cultural aspects without judgment but also without being stuffily politically correct: she simply recorded what she saw.