25 November 2021
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Canada Post have issued a new commemorative stamp to honour literary giant Margaret Atwood and her sixty-year career.
With more than fifty works to her credit – including novels, short fiction, poetry, criticism, graphic novels and children’s stories – Atwood is among the most successful and admired Canadian writers.
Born in Ottawa in 1939, the best-selling writer burst onto the literary scene in the early 1960s with two award-winning collections of poetry, Double Persephone and The Circle Game.
In 1969, she established herself as a serious writer of fiction with her first novel, The Edible Woman. Sometimes referred to as ‘the queen of CanLit,’ Atwood has sold millions of books, which have been translated into more than thirty languages.
Several of her works have been adapted into films and critically acclaimed television series, including the Emmy Award-winning series The Handmaid’s Tale.
The stamp, designed by Steven Slipp and printed by Lowe-Martin, features a photograph by renowned photographer Ruven Afanador, with the lines ‘A word after a word after a word is power’ from her poem ‘Spelling.’
The front of the Official First Day Cover showcases a sketch by the author entitled Neither fish nor flesh (1975).
The cancel – a raven silhouette symbolizing Atwood’s interest in birds – is postmarked in Toronto, which was chosen due to the author’s connections to the city’s publishing community.
Issue date: 25 November 2021
www.canadapost.ca