Stephen A. Levin Family Dean's Forum featuring Margaret Atwood
3401 Spruce Street Philadelphia, PA 19104
The Stephen A. Levin Family Dean's Forum welcomes poet and author Margaret Atwood!
Conversation moderated by Emily Wilson, College for Women Class of 1963 Term Professor in the Humanities and Professor of Classical Studies.
Due to popular demand, registration for this event has re-opened. Please note the new location of the event—Irvine Auditorium Main Hall.
To watch a livestream of the event, please click on the button below to register. A YouTube link to watch the livestream will be provided in your confirmation email.
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The New York Times said of Margaret Atwood, “With dry, ironic wit, a poetic sensibility, and more than a hint of the Gothic, she has uncompromisingly observed the psychology of people in her society.” The author of poems, books, and essays spanning more than 60 years, Atwood is a literary titan and a cultural icon. The Canadian writer shares her vision of society as it is and as it might become through works including The Handmaid’s Tale and its follow-up, The Testaments, as well as the MaddAddam trilogy. In the 2024 Levin Family Dean’s Forum, Atwood will be in conversation with Emily Wilson, College for Women Class of 1963 Term Professor in the Humanities, Professor of Classical Studies, and the author of critically acclaimed translations of Homer’s epics. Their discussion will range from gender to war to translation, touching on how art intersects with politics and myth, and what novels can do that other forms of communication can’t.
Margaret Atwood, bestselling author, cultural commentator, and two-time Booker Prize winner
Margaret Atwood was born in 1939 and grew up in northern Ontario, Quebec, and in Toronto. She is the author of more than 50 books of fiction, poetry, critical essays, and graphic novels, and her work has been published in over 45 countries. Atwood reveals hidden truths in our societies, inspiring readers to speak out against injustice and preparing them for the battle ahead. Her latest novel, The Testaments, is a co-winner of the 2019 Booker Prize. It is the long-awaited sequel to The Handmaid's Tale, now an award-winning TV series. Her other works of fiction include Cat's Eye, finalist for the 1989 Booker Prize; Alias Grace, which won the Giller Prize in Canada and the Premio Mondello in Italy; The Blind Assassin, winner of the 2000 Booker Prize; the MaddAddam Trilogy; and Hag-Seed. She is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade, the Franz Kalfka International Literary Prize, the PEN Center USA Lifetime Achievement Award, and the Los Angeles Times Innovator award. She lives in Toronto.
Emily Wilson, College for Women Class of 1963 Term Professor in the Humanities and Professor of Classical Studies
Emily Wilson has been a member of Penn’s Department of Classical Studies since 2002. She is known worldwide for her translations of Homer’s epics The Iliad and The Odyssey and was the first woman to translate The Odyssey into English. She is the recipient of two prestigious fellowships, the MacArthur “Genius Grant” and the Guggenheim, and was chosen to judge the Booker Prize competition. She has been named a Fellow of the American Academy in Rome in Renaissance and Early Modern scholarship.
The Stephen A. Levin Family Dean's Forum is a celebration of the arts and sciences. Initiated in 1984, the Forum presents leading intellectual figures who exemplify the richness of the liberal arts. The Levin Family Dean’s Forum is made possible by a generous gift from Stephen A. Levin, C’67, in honor of his sons Eric T. Levin, C'92, and Andrew Levin, C'14.