cultural life, the radio 4 programme, she reveals her formative influences and experiences, and how, even in high school, her creativity was clear. i put on a home economics opera. it was about fabrics. can you remember how it goes? # fabrics need a swim in the suds. # it makes them feel just like new. # plink plink, plink plink. laughter. i want to make sure the mics are recording us. margaret atwood, welcome to this cultural life. thank you very much. happy to be here. on this programme, i ask my guests to choose the most significant influences and experiences that have shaped their own creativity, and your first choice is your parents. yes. tell me about your parents. well, first of all, they, um, were very innovative and able to improvise, because, of course, if you live in the woods and there aren t any shops, you have to be, and they were both very outdoorsy. but they also allowed us to make messes in our rooms and didn t make us clean them up. by messes, i mean project
happy to be here. on this programme, i ask my guests to choose the most significant influences and experiences that have shaped their own creativity, and your first choice is your parents. yes. tell me about your parents. well, first of all, they, um, were very innovative and able to improvise, because, of course, if you live in the woods and there aren t any shops, you have to be, and they were both very outdoorsy. but they also allowed us to make messes in our rooms and didn t make us clean them up. by messes, i mean projects, which always begin as messes. just to set the scene, this is rural quebec, because your father was an entomologist. he was studying. oh, yes. he was a forest entomologist, and his research station spring, summer and fall, was up in the woods north, north, north, north, north of ottawa, up the ottawa river, and this would be in a house that he built himself, because he was of a rural background and knew how to do all of that, and, um, therefore, he had
Influences and experiences, and how even in high school, her creativity was clear. Creativity was clear. Home economics creativity was clear. Home economics opera, creativity was clear. Home economics opera, It Creativity was clear. Home economics opera, it was i creativity was clear. Home economics opera, it was about fabrics. ,. , economics opera, it was about fabrics. ,. ,. , fabrics. Can you remember how it noes . Fabrics. Can you remember how it goes . It fabrics. Can you remember how it goes . It makes fabrics. Can you remember how it goes . It makes them fabrics. Can you remember how it goes . It makes them feel it goes . It makes them feel ust like it goes . It makes them feel just like new. Margaret atwood, welcome to this cultural life. Thank you very much. Happy to be here. On this programme, i ask my guests to choose the most significant influences and experiences that have shaped their own creativity, and your first choice is your parents. Yes. Tell me about your parents.
time more than i had been. we had to write a certain amount in school anyway. we had to write essays. mm. and in those days, we had to read quite long novels in school, so thomas hardy was a feature. laughter. we had a shakespeare play a year, and that was of great use in later life. but, particularly, we had a dramatic group that would come to the school, called the earl grey players, and they would put on plays that were in the curriculum. you were doing a bit of acting as well, then? oh, i was doing some acting because it was the age of skits. people did a lot of skits. so, what i eventually did with home economics was i put on a home economics opera. what?! how does that play out.? well, it played out like this. the well meaning, but rather humourless, um. home economics teacher made the mistake of letting us vote on a special project. hmm.
what was the result? i still cannot touch type. i have to look. are you.are you two fingers? four. was there.was there a moment, though, where you suddenly thought, actually, i need to write? oh, yes. that would be when i was 16. yes, i started writing at that time more than i had been. we had to write a certain amount in school anyway. we had to write essays. mm. and in those days, we had to read quite long novels in school. so thomas hardy was a feature. we had a shakespeare play a year, and, um.that was of great use in later life. but particularly, we had a dramatic group that would come to the school called the earl grey players. and they would put on plays that were in the curriculum. you were doing a bit of acting as well, then? oh, i was doing some acting, because it was the age of skits. people did a lot of skits. so what i eventually did