Paper Boat

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By Margaret Atwood

Publisher Description

An extraordinary career-spanning collection from one of the most revered poets and storytellers of our age

Tracing the legacy of Margaret Atwood—a writer who has fundamentally shaped the contemporary literary landscapes—Paper Boat: New and Selected Poems, 1961–2023 assembles Atwood’s most vital poems in one essential volume.

In pieces that are at once brilliant, beautiful, and hyper-imagined, Atwood gives voice to remarkably drawn characters—mythological figures, animals, and everyday people—all of whom have something to say about what it means to live in a world as strange as our own. “How can one live with such a heart?” Atwood asks, casting her singular spell upon the reader and ferrying us through life, death, and whatever comes next. Atwood, in her journey through poetry, illuminates our most innate joys and sorrows, desires and fears.

Spanning six decades of work—from her earliest beginnings to brand-new poems—this volume charts the evolution of one of our most iconic and necessary authors.

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13 Reviews

4.0

lane burns

Created 12 days ago

“I’m not a huge Atwood fan. But some poems I liked and some not so much.”

SleepyBirdO.O🌽✒️

Created about 1 month ago

“What can I, a [supposed] mere mortal, say about the marvelous Margaret Atwood? This collection is a wonderful sample platter of a prolific career in poetry. Throw it in your bag &it doubles as a weapon, and I’m sure Margaret would approve.”

Amelia

Created about 2 months ago

anna

Created about 2 months ago

““(…) If I love you is that a fact or a weapon?” Soixante années de poèmes rassemblées en un recueil, voilà qui est intimidant. Je suis assez habituée depuis ma lecture des poèmes de Louise Glück et je pense même que c’est maintenant ma façon préférée de lire des poèmes, plutôt que de lire de courts recueils. J’aime voir la progression stylistique et mentale de la poétesse, on traverse le livre comme elle traverse sa vie, c’est passionnant. Ici, ce n’est pas un recueil exhaustif, mais une sélection de poèmes de chacun de ses recueils publiés, mais en raison de la taille de l’ouvrage, je le range dans la même catégorie. Nous sommes alors témoins de sa progression, et j’ai noté plusieurs étapes dans sa construction : “Why is it (I’m thinking of the careful moulding round the stonework archways) that in this time, such elaborate defences keep things that are no longer (much) worth defending?” 1. Recueils « Double Persephone » ; « Uncollected poems I » ; « The Circle Game » ; « The Animals in That Country » et « The Journals of Susanna Moodie » : Les premiers recueils de l’ouvrage regroupent des poèmes moins puissants et moins frappants. Ils sont, pour la plupart, d’inspiration historique et relèvent davantage d’une rigueur stylistique typique des débuts poétiques. “You asked for love I gave you only descriptions Please die I said so I can write about it” 2. Recueils « Procedures for Underground » et « Power Politics » : Les poèmes de ces deux recueils ont pour thème principal l’amour. La grande majorité est articulé autour du sujet je qui s’adresse au tu aimé. Ce sont des poèmes plus titubants qui peuvent, à mon avis, être trop personnels, voire gênants à lire, j’ai parfois l’impression de lire ce qui ne m’est pas destiné. En revanche, certains vers sortent magnifiquement du lot et justifient la lecture de ces poèmes. “what you can’t give away you must carry with you, it is always heavier than you thought.” 3. Recueil « You are happy » : Il y a dans ce recueil un véritable recentrement sur soi, marqué du poids de la culpabilité et du passé, ce qui est beaucoup plus intéressant que les recueils précédents. “Last year I abstained this year I devour  without guilt which is also an art” J’allais continuer à répertorier mais je me suis laisser perdre dans l’amas de poèmes, où l’on navigue d’arbre en rivière en passant par les mains et les miroirs. J’ai arrêté de penser à cette review et j’ai laissé les phrases briller sous mes yeux, pendant que d’autres disparaissaient. Je regrette de l’avoir peut-être lu trop vite ; on dit toujours que la poésie doit être lue lentement, mais j’aime la lire en grande quantité. Je pense que, comme le Glück, je le relirai un jour, probablement en été, pour voir si ça change de l’hiver, l’année prochaine ou bien longtemps après ça, histoire de comparer mes annotations. En tout cas, Atwood a cette capacité à écrire des poèmes qui arrivent à te persuader qu’elle sait tout ce que tu ne sais pas et que tu rêves de savoir, c’est fascinant. Enfin, voici mes poèmes préférés du recueil, si vous n’avez pas le temps pour les 600 pages, ils en valent absolument la peine : « The Small Cabin », « There is Only One of Everything » et « Scattering Wood »”

Tiffwinterblue

Created 3 months ago

About Margaret Atwood

MARGARET ATWOOD is the author of more than fifty books of fiction, poetry, and critical essays. She has won the Booker Prize, the Arthur C. Clarke Award for Imagination in Service to Society, the Franz Kafka Prize, the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade, the PEN USA Lifetime Achievement Award, and the Dayton Literary Peace Prize. She lives in Toronto, Canada.