The fifty essays in <i>Second Words</i> span the period from 1962 to 1980 and reveal Margaret Atwood's views on feminism, Canadian literature, the creative process, nationalism, sexism, as well as critical commentary on such writers as Erica Jong, E. L. Doctorow, Northrop Frye, Roch Carrier, Marie - Claire Blais, Marge Piercy, Adrienne Rich, Sylvia Plath, and many more.