Margaret Atwood's response

Through the incredible luck of having a generous and kind professor with great connections, I was able to send some of my writing to one of my favorite writers, Margaret Atwood.  Below is an email from her, responding to my story "The Lake," which was based on one of her poems.

Dear Jessica (if I may),

 

One of the most unexpected and meaningful gifts I have received as a result of my career as a writer has been the opportunity to read the work of other, younger writers as they embark on their own careers. I have always found such opportunities to be deeply refreshing for my own work and perspective, as well as simply a delightful reminder of the wide and deep river of talent that winds through the world of great literature and art.

 

Thanks to your efforts, and to those of your dedicated Professor writing on your behalf, I have now one more such opportunity to add to my life's list. The fact that your evocative, chilling, and deeply human story was inspired by my poem simply provides one more layer to my enjoyment (and has helped me return once more to that long-departed poem and see it in a new light, for which I am very grateful), although I hasten to add that your story stands very much on its own.

 

I don't know what your plans are for the story going forward, and as I told your Professor, I try to make no recommendations when it comes to unpublished manuscripts--we must each chart our own course down that river, after all! But no matter what, I am quite certain I will be reading more of your work in print, and greatly anticipate that opportunity as well.

 

Thank you again, and best of luck in your career ahead.

 

Sincerely,

Margaret E. Atwood