This Is a Photograph of Me by Margaret Atwood
This Is a Photograph of Me
by Margaret Atwood
It was taken some time ago.
At first it seems to be
a smeared
print: blurred lines and grey flecks
blended with the paper;
then, as you scan
it, you see in the left-hand corner
a thing that is like a branch: part of a tree
(balsam or spruce) emerging
and, to the right, halfway up
what ought to be a gentle
slope, a small frame house.
In the background there is a lake,
and beyond that, some low hills.
(The photograph was taken
the day after I drowned.
I am in the lake, in the centre
of the picture, just under the surface.
It is difficult to say where
precisely, or to say
how large or small I am:
the effect of water
on light is a distortion
but if you look long enough,
eventually
you will be able to see me.)
As a part of the launch of the new A List series, a curated selection of titles from Anansiâs backlist featuring handsome new covers and introductions by well-known writers, comes Margaret Atwoodâs Governor Generalâs Literary Awardâwinning The Circle Game, with an introduction by Suzanne Buffam.
The appearance of Margaret Atwoodâs first major collection of poetry marked the beginning of a truly outstanding career in Canadian and international letters. The voice in these poems is as witty, vulnerable, direct, and incisive as weâve come to know in later works, such as Power Politics, Bodily Harm, and Alias Grace. Atwood writes compassionately about the risks of love in a technological age, and the quest for identity in a universe that cannot quite be trusted.
Containing many of Atwoodâs best and most famous poems, The Circle Game won the 1966 Governor Generalâs Literary Award for Poetry and rapidly attained an international reputation as a classic of modern poetry.
