7.4 /10 1 Votes7.4
Country Canadian Publication date 1961 | 3.7/5 Goodreads Language English Originally published 1961 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Similar Margaret Atwood books, Poetry books | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Double Persephone is a self-published poetry collection written by Canadian author Margaret Atwood in 1961. Atwood handset the book herself with a flat bed press, designed the cover with linoblocks, and only made 220 copies. It was the first publication released by Atwood, and comprises seven poems: "Formal Garden", "Pastoral", "Iconic Landscape", "Persephone Departing", "Chthonic Love", "Her Song", "and "Double Persephone".
The opening poem of Double Persephone, "Formal Garden," a "girl with the gorgon touch" walks through the title location searching for "a living wrist and arm", but all she finds is "a line of statues" with "marble flesh. The girl apparently has traits similar to Medusa, who could turn men to stone by glancing upon them.
Atwood followed up the collection with another book of poetry released in 1964, The Circle Game.
Won the EJ Pratt medal.