In its coverage of last night’s Giller bash, the Toronto Star has a short sidebar about a goofy protest staged by Margaret Atwood and husband Graeme Gibson. According to the Star, the literary duo said “no thanks” to the Four Season’s fancy menu of tuna tartar and beef tenderloin, and instead ate homemade dinners they’d brought along in a gym bag.

The reason: They were protesting the Four Seasons’ role in a massive resort development in Grenada that threatens an endangered species: the Grenada dove.

“Until there is a fair resolution of the dispute over the kind of resort being built in Grenada, we cannot accept food or drink from the Four Seasons,” explained Gibson, who arrived at the event carrying what appeared to be a gym bag but in fact contained their meal.

And so Canada’s most famous literary couple munched on homemade spinach and cucumber, and drank their own sake, while others at their table, including former Governor General Adrienne Clarkson, ate beef and drank wine. [...] Four Seasons CEO Isadore Sharp sat at a nearby table.

Not to be cynical, but if Atwood and Gibson really wanted to show solidarity with the Grenada dove, wouldn’t it have behooved them to boycott the ceremony altogether? They could have put out a press release explaining their absence and got the same amount of coverage. But by picnicking they managed to make a show of their anti-establishment credentials and still retain pride of place at the literary status-symbol night of the year. That takes some sort of genius….

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