Bonus: A.M. Homes interviews Margaret Atwood

·18 min·1 clip

Margaret Atwood explains how Texas women sewed red outfits to protest in the legislature.

This bonus episode of Selected Shorts presents an extended conversation between novelist A.M. Homes and author Margaret Atwood, recorded live at Symphony Space. The discussion centers on Atwood's new short story collection, *Old Babes in the Wood*, and ranges across her career and worldview. Homes guides a wide-ranging interview that touches on writing, aging, feminism, and the cultural legacy of Atwood's work. The collection features stories revisiting the long-married characters Nell and Tig, including the heartbreaking "Widows," performed in the main program by Ellen Burstyn. Atwood and Homes discuss how perceptions of time change with age, referencing Muriel Spark's *Memento Mori* and Tennyson's "Ulysses" and "Tithonus." They note the global use of Handmaid's Tale costumes as protest symbols, which began with women in the Texas legislature sewing their own red outfits. Atwood identifies with the legal-focused feminism of organizations like Equality Now rather than symbolic gestures. She contrasts international reactions to *The Handmaid's Tale*, citing England's "jolly good yarn" response, Canada's nervous "could it happen here," and a split U.S. reaction between dismissal and alarm. Atwood describes Canada's geopolitical sensibility with the winning phrase "as Canadian as possible under the circumstances" and jokes about the national song "Canada's Really Big" by the Arrogant Worms. She explains Canada's multilingual foundation, encompassing 52 Indigenous languages alongside French and English. When asked about the prevalence of dystopian fiction, Atwood theorizes young writers may use it to avoid the perils of social realism or to process present-day fears through "what if" scenarios. She shares that the key to writing frightening material is whether the story convinces and absorbs her as the author first. The tone is warm, witty, and conversational, filled with personal anecdotes and literary references. The style is a meandering, thoughtful dialogue between two writers who clearly admire each other, punctuated by laughter and mutual affection. Listeners who enjoy intimate, intellectual conversations about writing, aging, and cultural commentary will love this episode. Those seeking a structured discussion of Atwood's new book or a focused literary analysis might find the free-flowing format too digressive.

As heard by us

Atwood's live conversation with A.M. Holmes turns feminism, time, writing, and Old Babes in the Wood into a lucid hour.

Selected Shorts devotes its hour to Margaret Atwood, and the live conversation with A.M. Holmes at Symphony Space makes a convincing case for the format. It moves from feminism and time to writing and dystopian fiction, with Old Babes in the Wood at the center.

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Why you'd press play

You want Atwood on feminism, time, and fear in one live hour.

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