Welcome to today's meeting of the Valshi Band Book Club. I'm MSNBC's Allie Velshi.

There are three reasons why a work of literature can make a lasting cultural impact.

The words, the story, or the author.

In the case of Margaret Atwood and her stable of literature, the answer is all three, resoundingly.

Today on the Velshi Band Book Club, we're going to speak with Margaret

Atwood on two books, her magnum opus, The Handmaid's Tale, and her modern retelling of William Shakespeare's

The Tempest, entitled Hags Seed. But before we get to those words and those stories, let's discuss

the author, Margaret Atwood, and her remarkable contribution

to literature and culture. A Canada native, like myself, Atwood started writing it just five years old.

Her body of work is vast, to say the least, including some 18 collections of poetry,

nearly 30 books, eight children's books, two graphic novels, and more.

While Atwood's work covers numerous topics and genres, they all share her unique style

of prose and her distinct feminist perspective. Atwood masterfully wields myth, fairy tale,

historical reality, and gendered relationships to explore feminism or, as she prefers to call it,

social realism. Beyond the role of women in society, Atwood's work has scrutinized the relationship

between humans and animals, identity, religion, and the role of government in society.

It's really no surprise that her literature has not just remained relevant,

including enduring bestsellers, television adaptations, and on-stage productions,

but has become part of the very fabric of our culture.

Every single book, poem, and article tells a message.

One we need to listen to. Generations to come will be reading

Margaret Atwood. That much is certain. So without further ado, let's look at the words and

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