Margaret Atwood Raps!

by Shari Randall

It was a big week for readers in my little neck of the New England woods. We had appearances by two literary luminaries: Chris Bohjalian and Margaret Atwood.

Chris Bohjalian appeared at an event sponsored by the Groton Public Library and Mystic, CT’s independent bookstore, Bank Square Books. Margaret Atwood spoke as part of Connecticut College’s Daniel Klagsbrun Symposium on Creative Arts and Moral Vision

I couldn’t wait to see these authors I admire so much and my expectations were met, exceeded, and upended.

In his sleek suit, Bohjalian looked businesslike and every bit the best-selling author. I noticed a few notes stuffed into his copy of his latest book The Guest Room. This made me expect a structured, businesslike presentation: Introduction, Biography from birth to latest bestseller, and so on.

But the first thing Bohjalian did when he strode to the podium was laugh and express his astonishment that 65 people had come out to see him on the same night as Game Seven of the MLB championships.

Instead of a by-the-numbers presentation, Bohjalian wove a story, a story about a boy who had to wear orthodontic headgear for four hours a day and found refuge in the Miami Library, where he encountered books by Stephen King, Peter Straub, and Peter Benchley. He wove together his life as a reader, son of Armenian descent, father, and advocate for victims of trafficking. He told us that his daughter is the one who helped him understand himself as a writer. “Dad,” she said, “your sweet spot is seriously messed up young women.” He said that the effect he tries to create in his writing is one of dread, and he likes to walk that fine line between heartbreak and hope.

And just when he couldn’t be any more likeable, Bohjalian told us he had just seen Margaret Atwood in the lobby of his hotel, and, he confessed, he was too star struck to introduce himself.

The next day I took my seat in a packed room of students, professors, and other readers to see Atwood, the Canadian author of the modern classic The Handmaid’s Tale, The Blind Assassin (winner of the 2009 Booker Prize), Oryx and Crake, The Robber Bride, and the just released Hag-Seed, a modern spin on Shakespeare’s The Tempest.

My expectation was a serious, soul stirring presentation by a serious genius. After all, the symposium is dedicated to the Creative Arts and Moral Vision. But Atwood wears her genius lightly.

She laughed at her own jokes, evidently never met a pun she didn’t like, and the first thing she talked about was her new graphic novel  (“Graphic novel is what you call a comic book” she said, “in hard cover”) about a part human, part cat, part bird and his battle against an evil half rat, half human. I’m not making this up. Angel Catbird is goofy, weird, and great. Part of the reason Atwood did this mash up was to bring attention to the loss of birds due to poison and pollution, habitat loss, and glass windows.

She then read an excerpt from Hag-Seed, which she set in a modern prison. The excerpt was gleefully profane and Atwood followed it up with a hysterical rap written by the inmates of said prison. Margaret Atwood rapping! That I never expected.

Have you attended any author presentations? Were your expectations met, exceeded, or upended?