Negotiating with the Dead: A Writer on Writing

Margaret Atwood's "Negotiating With The Dead" is a must-read for any aspiring writer or anyone interested in the creative process. Atwood's insights and observations about the nature of writing are both profound and practical, and her prose is engaging and insightful throughout.I have read this book thrice, and each time I find something new to take away from it. Atwood's discussions of the relationship between the writer and their audience, their role in society, and how writers deal with their mortality are all fascinating and thought-provoking.What I appreciate most about this book, however, is Atwood's honesty and self-awareness. She doesn't shy away from the complex writing aspects of the challenges writers face in pursuing their craft. Instead, she offers practical advice and encouragement for anyone committed to the writing life.Overall, I would highly recommend "Negotiating With The Dead" to anyone passionate about writing or interested in the creative process. Atwood's wisdom and insight will inspire you to pursue your creative goals with renewed energy and focus.

Looking forward to reading this book. Thumbing through, I know this book is a winner! I want to absorb everything Margaret Atwood has to say!

Margaret Atwood is the best of the best

This book is a relaxed and learned meditation on writing and being a writer, by an accomplished writer of novels, short stories, poetry, and literary criticism. In it, Margaret Atwood adapts six lectures she gave at the University of Cambridge in 2000. I call it a meditation because there is no central thesis or sustained, linear argument. Rather, the thoughts circle around and refer to and bounce off one another, with all coalescing generally around the medium of writing. Atwood's style is relatively informal and often playful, and she draws upon an impressive - and instructive - range of literary references.The title of the book is also the title of the last chapter, and is derived from Atwood's hypothesis that "not just some, but ALL writing of the narrative kind * * * is motivated, deep down, by a fear of and a fascination with mortality - by a desire to make the risky trip to the Underworld, and to bring something or some back from the dead." I am a little dubious about what follows the dash in that sentence about trips to the Underworld, at least as applied to ALL writing, but the broader statement that writing is motivated by a fear of and a fascination with mortality makes sense to me. In fact, it articulates a notion that from time to time had occurred to me. And that's the value of the book - not as a how-to guide to writing or a magisterial pronouncement of literary principles a la T.S. Eliot, but as a collection of thought-provoking reflections on writing, which may or may not resonate with you.Here are three of the comments that I marked as I leisurely made my way through the book:* "Wanting to meet a author because you like his work is like wanting to meet a duck because you like pâté."* There is "only one real question to be asked about any work" and that is "is it alive, or is it dead?"* "Narration - storytelling - is the relation of events unfolding through time. You can't hold a mirror up to Nature and have it be a story unless there's a metronome ticking somewhere. As Leon Edel has noted, if it's a novel, there's bound to be a clock in it."At times, I felt that Atwood moved too far from the realm of reflection and observation to that of analysis, and I am not sure that the medium of writing lends itself to unpretentious, non-academic analysis. But those moments were relatively infrequent and abbreviated, so that overall I enjoyed NEGOTIATING WITH THE DEAD. Just don't look to it for some sort of satori.

Excellent quality book and writing. A book for intellectuals, writers, academics. Very interesting, inspiring and thought provoking.

Atwood is a magical story teller, even in this nonfiction novel about the writer's journey. She is witty and the evidence she uses to support her cases are perfect. It was a great read.

Great collection of essays tied together with the common theme of writing and being a writer. In her usual mix of amazingly insightful writing and a dash of humor, Atwood breaks down the craft of writing as well as her personal relationship with writing. Great read for those wishing to write as well as those that are simply curious as to the life of a professional writer.

As a high school English teacher, I wanted to perfect my craft of teaching writing to my students. Who better to know writing than a real writer, right? Unfortunately, this book is not about the nuts and bolts of writing per se; it is more about Atwood's journey to being a writer, her literary life.The book is divided into six chapters, each based on a lecture Atwood delivered in 2000 at Cambridge University. Here is an overview of the topics discussed:Ch. 1- "Orientation", How Atwood became a writer (Educated parents, solitude, early/voracious reader) and the literary sub-culture.Ch. 2- "Duplicity", The duality of the Writer (Self v. Muse).Ch. 3- "Dedication", Literary success v. financial success and their subsequent perceptions/pressures on the Writer.Ch. 4- "Temptation", The Writer v. Social Repsonsibility (Is Art merely decorative or does it serve a greater purpose?)Ch. 5- "Communion", The Reader's role in literature (Analysis/interpretation of the Writer's work)Ch. 6- "Descent", Telling stories because we're human, because we're connected with others.As one can tell from the topics discussed, the book might be insightful for those who want to make writing a career, giving good advice on how best to do this. However, if you are looking for a book on the craft of writing, the steps one goes through to produce a published work, this is probably not the best book for you.