The Homer of the Ants / Anthill by E.O. Wilson reviewed by Margaret Atwood

From The New York Review of Books:

"What to make of Anthill ? Part epic-inspired adventure story, part philosophy-of-life, part many-layered mid-century Alabama viewed in finely observed detail, part ant life up close, part lyrical hymn to the wonders of earth, part contribution to the growing genre of eco-lit: yes, all these. But hidden within Anthill is also a sort of instruction manual. Here’s an effective way of saving the planet, one anthill at a time, as it were—preserving this metaphorical Ithaca as an “island in a meaningless sea,” a place of “infinite knowledge and mystery.” The largeness of the task and the relative smallness of the accomplishment make Anthill a mournful elegy as well: this may be all that can be saved, we are led to understand. But we are also led to understand that it’s worth saving."

Atwood Says ‘We Don’t Do Cultural Boycotts’ and Accepts Israeli Prize

From ArtsBeat Blog at NYT:

"Margaret Atwood on Monday accepted the Dan David Prize at Tel Aviv University in Israel, telling an interviewer before the ceremony that to snub the honor would be tantamount to “throwing overboard the thousands of writers around the world who are in prison, censored, exiled and murdered for what they have published.”

Ms. Atwood, the Canadian author of “The Year of the Flood” and a vice president of International PEN, the literary human rights group, shared the $1 million prize with the Indian writer Amitav Ghosh (“Sea of Poppies”). Prior to the awards ceremony, Ms. Atwood had been urged by Palestinian groups and writers from other countries not to accept the prize as a protest of Israel’s policies toward the Gaza Strip and its artists. But Ms. Atwood was not persuaded, telling Bloomberg News, “We don’t do cultural boycotts."

God bless Margaret Atwood. I like her fiction and I like her poetry but now I also like her. Let's hear it for a little moral seriousness.