an excerpt from Joe Berkowitz’ piece, How Margaret Atwood Creates Scary-Plausible Worlds

This may sound silly, but I like to wonder what people would have for breakfast—which people, as their breakfasts would be different—and where they would get those food items, and whether or not they would say a prayer over them, and how they would pay for them, and what they would wear during that meal, and, if cooked, how, and what sort of bed they would have arisen from, and what else they might be doing while having the breakfast—talking to someone (who), in person or on a device (what?), and who would be allowed to do that, and what they might feel safe in saying. Breakfast can take you quite far.

We will be reading eight Margaret Atwood novels in grad seminar winter quarter. I’m really excited for this opportunity to explore her work.