The CBC Massey Lectures 2008

Legendary novelist, poet, and essayist Margaret Atwood delivers a surprising look at the topic of debt. In her wide-ranging, entertaining, and imaginative approach to the subject, Atwood proposes that debt is like air - something we take for granted until things go wrong. And then, while gasping for breath, we become very interested in it.

Payback is not about practical debt management or high finance. Rather, it is an investigation into the idea of debt as an ancient and central motif in religion, literature, and the structure of human societies.

Margaret Atwood writes “These are not lectures about how to get out of debt; rather, they’re about the debtor/creditor twinship in the broadest sense – from human sacrifice to pawnshops to revenge. In this light, what we owe and how we pay is a feature of all human societies, and profoundly shapes our shared values and our cultures.”

Margaret Atwood is one of the world’s pre-eminent writers - winner of the Booker Prize, the Scotiabank Giller Prize, and the Governor General’s Literary Award, among many other honours. She is the bestselling author of more than thirty-five books of poetry, fiction, and nonfiction, including The Handmaid’s Tale, Alias Grace, The Blind Assassin, and Oryx and Crake. She is an International Vice President of PEN, which assists writers around the world in the peaceful expression of their ideas. Most recently, she is the 2008 recipient of the prestigious Prince of Asturias Award for Letters.

BOOKS AND CDs FOR SALE:
Payback is published by House of Anansi Press .

The book and CD set can be ordered securely online at The CBC Shop or, to speak to a live operator, by calling
1-800-955-7711, Monday through Friday, 9:00 am - 4:45 pm EST. The book costs CAD $14.99. The broadcast lectures of Payback are available as a set of 5 CDs at a cost of CAD $49.95.

If you encounter difficulties or if you wish to pay by personal cheque, the direct line to IDEAS Transcripts is 416-205-6010 or, by email, ideastran AT cbc.ca (change the letters AT to the @ symbol and remove the spaces when sending to this address).

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