Passings ~ Doris Lessing (1919-2013)

Doris Lessing has died. There are obituaries here and here at The Guardian and The New York Times respectively. And there is a remembrance by Margaret Atwood here. Atwood remarks:

"She was political in the most basic sense, recognising the manifestations of power in its many forms. She was spiritual as well, exploring the limits and pitfalls that came with being human . . . [S]he was everything a younger female writer might hope for: kind, helpful, interested, and with a special understanding of the position of writers from elsewhere within England. . . . And she was a model also for every writer coming from the back of beyond, demonstrating – as she so signally did – that you can be a nobody from nowhere, but, with talent, courage, perseverance through hard times, and a dollop of luck, you can scale the topmost storyheights."

Hurray for Margaret Atwood! Hurray for Public Libraries!

Imagine - public libraries that are well funded and staffed! And thanks to Margaret Atwood for voicing solidarity with striking library workers in Toronto.