Thurschwell, Pamela (2019) "Here's a man and woman sitting on a rock": Joni Mitchell, Margaret Atwood, and irritable feminism. In: Charnock, Ruth (ed.) Joni Mitchell: new critical readings. Bloomsbury Academic, New York, USA, pp. 167-183. ISBN 9781501332098

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Abstract

This chapter charts multiple connections between Joni Mitchell and Margaret Atwood, as brilliant, angry, self-conscious, Canadian women artists of a similar generation. It explores the crossovers between Mitchell’s songs (focusing on “Come in from the Cold,” “Song for Sharon,” and “Refuge of the Roads”) and Atwood’s writings (focusing on the quasi-autobiographical novel, Cat’s Eye) to uncover a shared sensibility as well as a shared history and sense of place. Mitchell’s and Atwood’s works speak to each other through a similar affective landscape--simultaneously tough, vulnerable, and imbued with a desire for freedom that merges with a deep sense of loneliness. A critique of patriarchy, via a feminism that I want to call irritable, is a central plank of both authors’ techniques and sensibilities.

Item Type:	Book Section
Keywords:	Joni Mitchell, Margaret Atwood, Feminism
Schools and Departments:	School of Media, Arts and Humanities > English
Subjects:	M Music. Literature on music. Musical instruction and study > ML Literature on music > ML0159 History and criticism > ML3469 Popular music M Music. Literature on music. Musical instruction and study > ML Literature on music > ML0159 History and criticism > ML3780 Music on particular topics P Language and Literature
Depositing User:	Pam Thurschwell
Date Deposited:	01 Feb 2019 10:29
Last Modified:	24 Apr 2023 13:31
URI:	http://sro.sussex.ac.uk/id/eprint/81591

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