Michael Ondaatje
Encyclopedia
Philip Michael Ondaatje (icon; born September 12, 1943), OC
, is a Sri Lanka
n-born Canadian novelist and poet of Burgher
origin. He is perhaps best known for his Booker Prize-winning novel, The English Patient
, which was adapted into an Academy-Award
-winning film.
, Sri Lanka (then Ceylon) in 1943 and moved to England in 1954. He attended Dulwich College
- Alma Mater
of literary luminaries such as P. G. Wodehouse
and Raymond Chandler
. After relocating to Canada in 1962, Ondaatje became a Canadian citizen. He studied for a time at Bishop's College School
and Bishop's University
in Lennoxville, Quebec
, but moved to Toronto
, where he received his BA from the University of Toronto
and his MA from Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario
. He then began teaching at the University of Western Ontario
in London, Ontario
. In 1970, he settled in Toronto
and, from 1971 to 1990, taught English Literature there at York University
and Glendon College
.
Ondaatje's work includes fiction, autobiography, poetry and film. He has published thirteen books of poetry, and won the Governor General's Award
for The Collected Works of Billy the Kid (1970) and There's a Trick With a Knife I'm Learning to Do: Poems 1973-1978 (1979). Anil's Ghost
was winner of the 2000 Giller Prize, the Prix Médicis
, the Kiriyama Pacific Rim Book Prize, the 2001 Irish Times International Fiction Prize and Canada's Governor General's Award
. The English Patient
won of the Booker Prize, the Canada Australia Prize, and the Governor General's Award
and later made into a motion picture, winning the Academy Award for Best Picture
. The English Patient could be considered a sequel to In the Skin of a Lion
(1987). In the Skin of a Lion
, a fictional story about early immigrant settlers in Toronto, won the 1988 City of Toronto Book Award
, finalist for the 1987 Ritz Paris Hemingway Award for best novel of the year in English, and winner of the first Canada Reads
competition in 2002. Coming Through Slaughter
, is a fictional story of New Orleans, Louisiana
circa 1900 loosely based on the lives of jazz pioneer Buddy Bolden
and photographer E. J. Bellocq
. It was the winner of the 1976 Books in Canada First Novel Award
. Divisadero
won the 2007 Governor General's Award
. Running in the Family
(1982) is a semi-fictional memoir of his Sri Lankan childhood.
The Collected Works of Billy the Kid, Coming Through Slaughter and Divisadero have been adapted for the stage and produced in numerous theatrical productions across North America and Europe. Ondaatje's three films include a documentary on fellow poet B.P. Nichol, Sons of Captain Poetry, and The Clinton Special: A Film About The Farm Show, which chronicles a collaborative theatre experience led in 1971 by Paul Thompson of Theatre Passe Muraille
. In 2002, Ondaatje published a non-fiction book, The Conversations: Walter Murch and the Art of Editing Film, which won special recognition at the 2003 American Cinema Editors Awards, as well as a Kraszna-Krausz Book Award for best book of the year on the moving image.
Since the 1960s, Ondaatje has been involved with Toronto's Coach House Books
, supporting the independent small press by working as a poetry editor. Ondaatje and his wife, novelist and academic Linda Spalding
, co-edit Brick, A Literary Journal, with Michael Redhill
, Michael Helm
, and Esta Spalding
. In 1988, Ondaatje was made an Officer of the Order of Canada
(OC) and two years later a Foreign Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters.
Ondaatje has two children and is the brother of philanthropist, businessman and author Christopher Ondaatje
. Ondaatje's nephew David is a film director and screenwriter who made the 2009 film The Lodger
.
Order of Canada
The Order of Canada is a Canadian national order, admission into which is, within the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, the second highest honour for merit...
, is a Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
n-born Canadian novelist and poet of Burgher
Burgher people
The Burghers are a Eurasian ethnic group, historically from Sri Lanka, consisting for the most part of male-line descendants of European colonists from the 16th to 20th centuries and local women, with some minorities of Swedish, Norwegian, French and Irish.Today the mother tongue of the Burghers...
origin. He is perhaps best known for his Booker Prize-winning novel, The English Patient
The English Patient
The English Patient is a 1992 novel by Sri Lankan-Canadian novelist Michael Ondaatje. The story deals with the gradually revealed histories of a critically burned English accented Hungarian man, his Canadian nurse, a Canadian-Italian thief, and an Indian sapper in the British Army as they live out...
, which was adapted into an Academy-Award
Academy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
-winning film.
Life and work
Michael Ondaatje was born in ColomboColombo
Colombo is the largest city of Sri Lanka. It is located on the west coast of the island and adjacent to Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte, the capital of Sri Lanka. Colombo is often referred to as the capital of the country, since Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte is a satellite city of Colombo...
, Sri Lanka (then Ceylon) in 1943 and moved to England in 1954. He attended Dulwich College
Dulwich College
Dulwich College is an independent school for boys in Dulwich, southeast London, England. The college was founded in 1619 by Edward Alleyn, a successful Elizabethan actor, with the original purpose of educating 12 poor scholars as the foundation of "God's Gift". It currently has about 1,600 boys,...
- Alma Mater
Alma mater
Alma mater , pronounced ), was used in ancient Rome as a title for various mother goddesses, especially Ceres or Cybele, and in Christianity for the Virgin Mary.-General term:...
of literary luminaries such as P. G. Wodehouse
P. G. Wodehouse
Sir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse, KBE was an English humorist, whose body of work includes novels, short stories, plays, poems, song lyrics, and numerous pieces of journalism. He enjoyed enormous popular success during a career that lasted more than seventy years and his many writings continue to be...
and Raymond Chandler
Raymond Chandler
Raymond Thornton Chandler was an American novelist and screenwriter.In 1932, at age forty-five, Raymond Chandler decided to become a detective fiction writer after losing his job as an oil company executive during the Depression. His first short story, "Blackmailers Don't Shoot", was published in...
. After relocating to Canada in 1962, Ondaatje became a Canadian citizen. He studied for a time at Bishop's College School
Bishop's College School
This article is about the school in Canada. Alternatively, visit Diocesan College in Cape Town, South Africa.Bishop's College School is a private school in Lennoxville, Quebec, Canada....
and Bishop's University
Bishop's University
Bishop's University is a predominantly undergraduate university in Lennoxville, Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada. Bishop's is one of three universities in the province of Quebec that teach primarily in the English language...
in Lennoxville, Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
, but moved to Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, where he received his BA from the University of Toronto
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...
and his MA from Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
. He then began teaching at the University of Western Ontario
University of Western Ontario
The University of Western Ontario is a public research university located in London, Ontario, Canada. The university's main campus covers of land, with the Thames River cutting through the eastern portion of the main campus. Western administers its programs through 12 different faculties and...
in London, Ontario
London, Ontario
London is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada, situated along the Quebec City – Windsor Corridor. The city has a population of 352,395, and the metropolitan area has a population of 457,720, according to the 2006 Canadian census; the metro population in 2009 was estimated at 489,274. The city...
. In 1970, he settled in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
and, from 1971 to 1990, taught English Literature there at York University
York University
York University is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's third-largest university, Ontario's second-largest graduate school, and Canada's leading interdisciplinary university....
and Glendon College
Glendon College
Glendon College is one of the two campuses of York University, Canada's third-largest university, in Toronto, Ontario. A bilingual liberal arts college with 84 full-time faculty members and a student population of about 2400, Glendon is located in midtown Toronto's Lawrence Park neighbourhood...
.
Ondaatje's work includes fiction, autobiography, poetry and film. He has published thirteen books of poetry, and won the Governor General's Award
Governor General's Award
The Governor General's Awards are a collection of awards presented by the Governor General of Canada, marking distinction in a number of academic, artistic and social fields. The first was conceived in 1937 by Lord Tweedsmuir, a prolific author of fiction and non-fiction who created the Governor...
for The Collected Works of Billy the Kid (1970) and There's a Trick With a Knife I'm Learning to Do: Poems 1973-1978 (1979). Anil's Ghost
Anil's Ghost
Anil’s Ghost is the critically acclaimed fourth novel by Michael Ondaatje. It was first published in 2000 by McClelland and Stewart.Anil’s Ghost follows the life of Anil Tissera, a native Sri Lankan who left to study in the United States on a scholarship, during which time she has become a forensic...
was winner of the 2000 Giller Prize, the Prix Médicis
Prix Médicis
The Prix Médicis is a French literary award given each year in November. It was founded in 1958 by Gala Barbisan and Jean-Pierre Giraudoux. It is awarded to an author whose "fame does not yet match his talent."...
, the Kiriyama Pacific Rim Book Prize, the 2001 Irish Times International Fiction Prize and Canada's Governor General's Award
Governor General's Award for English language fiction
This is a list of recipients of the Governor General's Award for English language fiction.-1930s:*1936: Bertram Brooker, Think of the Earth*1937: Laura Salverson, The Dark Weaver*1938: Gwethalyn Graham, Swiss Sonata...
. The English Patient
The English Patient
The English Patient is a 1992 novel by Sri Lankan-Canadian novelist Michael Ondaatje. The story deals with the gradually revealed histories of a critically burned English accented Hungarian man, his Canadian nurse, a Canadian-Italian thief, and an Indian sapper in the British Army as they live out...
won of the Booker Prize, the Canada Australia Prize, and the Governor General's Award
Governor General's Award for English language fiction
This is a list of recipients of the Governor General's Award for English language fiction.-1930s:*1936: Bertram Brooker, Think of the Earth*1937: Laura Salverson, The Dark Weaver*1938: Gwethalyn Graham, Swiss Sonata...
and later made into a motion picture, winning the Academy Award for Best Picture
Academy Award for Best Picture
The Academy Award for Best Picture is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to artists working in the motion picture industry. The Best Picture category is the only category in which every member of the Academy is eligible not only...
. The English Patient could be considered a sequel to In the Skin of a Lion
In the Skin of a Lion
In the Skin of a Lion is a novel by Canadian/Sri Lankan writer Michael Ondaatje. It was first published in 1987 by McClelland and Stewart. The novel fictionalises the lives of the immigrants whose contributions to building Toronto in the early 1900s never became part of the city's official history...
(1987). In the Skin of a Lion
In the Skin of a Lion
In the Skin of a Lion is a novel by Canadian/Sri Lankan writer Michael Ondaatje. It was first published in 1987 by McClelland and Stewart. The novel fictionalises the lives of the immigrants whose contributions to building Toronto in the early 1900s never became part of the city's official history...
, a fictional story about early immigrant settlers in Toronto, won the 1988 City of Toronto Book Award
City of Toronto Book Award
The Toronto Book Awards are Canadian literary awards, presented annually by the city of Toronto to the author of the year's best fiction or non-fiction book or books "that are evocative of Toronto"....
, finalist for the 1987 Ritz Paris Hemingway Award for best novel of the year in English, and winner of the first Canada Reads
Canada Reads
Canada Reads is an annual "battle of the books" competition organized and broadcast by Canada's public broadcaster, the CBC.-Overview:During Canada Reads, five personalities champion five different books, each champion extolling the merits of one of the titles. The debate is broadcast over a series...
competition in 2002. Coming Through Slaughter
Coming Through Slaughter
Coming Through Slaughter is a novel by Michael Ondaatje, published by House of Anansi in 1976. It was the winner of the 1976 Books in Canada First Novel Award....
, is a fictional story of New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...
circa 1900 loosely based on the lives of jazz pioneer Buddy Bolden
Buddy Bolden
Charles "Buddy" Bolden was an African American cornetist and is regarded by contemporaries as a key figure in the development of a New Orleans style of rag-time music which later came to be known as jazz.- Life :...
and photographer E. J. Bellocq
E. J. Bellocq
John Ernest Joseph Bellocq was an American professional photographer who worked in New Orleans during the early 20th century. Bellocq is remembered for his haunting photographs of the prostitutes of Storyville, New Orleans' legalized red light district...
. It was the winner of the 1976 Books in Canada First Novel Award
Books in Canada First Novel Award
The Amazon.ca First Novel Award, formerly the Books in Canada First Novel Award, is a literary award given annually to the best first novel in English published the previous year by a citizen or resident of Canada. It has been awarded since 1976....
. Divisadero
Divisadero (novel)
Divisadero is a novel by Michael Ondaatje, first published on April 17, 2007 by McClelland and Stewart.-Synopsis:The novel centres on a single father and his children: Anna, his natural daughter; Claire, who was adopted as a baby when Anna was born; and Cooper , who was taken in "to stay and work...
won the 2007 Governor General's Award
Governor General's Award for English language fiction
This is a list of recipients of the Governor General's Award for English language fiction.-1930s:*1936: Bertram Brooker, Think of the Earth*1937: Laura Salverson, The Dark Weaver*1938: Gwethalyn Graham, Swiss Sonata...
. Running in the Family
Running in the Family (memoir)
Running in the Family is a fictionalized memoir, written in post-modern style involving aspects of magic realism, by Michael Ondaatje. It deals with his return to his native island of Sri Lanka, also called Ceylon, in the late 1970s....
(1982) is a semi-fictional memoir of his Sri Lankan childhood.
The Collected Works of Billy the Kid, Coming Through Slaughter and Divisadero have been adapted for the stage and produced in numerous theatrical productions across North America and Europe. Ondaatje's three films include a documentary on fellow poet B.P. Nichol, Sons of Captain Poetry, and The Clinton Special: A Film About The Farm Show, which chronicles a collaborative theatre experience led in 1971 by Paul Thompson of Theatre Passe Muraille
Theatre Passe Muraille
Theatre Passe Muraille is a theatre company in Toronto, Canada.-Brief history:One of Canada's most influential alternative theatres, Theatre Passe Muraille was founded in 1968 by director and playwright Jim Garrard, who started the company out of Rochdale College.Its radical intention was create a...
. In 2002, Ondaatje published a non-fiction book, The Conversations: Walter Murch and the Art of Editing Film, which won special recognition at the 2003 American Cinema Editors Awards, as well as a Kraszna-Krausz Book Award for best book of the year on the moving image.
Since the 1960s, Ondaatje has been involved with Toronto's Coach House Books
Coach House Books
Coach House Books is an independent Canadian publishing company located in Toronto, Ontario. Coach House publishes innovative and experimental poetry, fiction, drama and non-fiction. The press is particularly interested in writing that pushes at the boundaries of convention.-History:The company was...
, supporting the independent small press by working as a poetry editor. Ondaatje and his wife, novelist and academic Linda Spalding
Linda Spalding
Linda Spalding is a Canadian writer and editor. Born in Topeka, Kansas, the daughter of Jacob Alan Dickinson and Edith Senner, she lived in Mexico and Hawaii before moving to Toronto, Ontario in 1982....
, co-edit Brick, A Literary Journal, with Michael Redhill
Michael Redhill
Michael Redhill is an American-born Canadian poet, playwright and novelist.Born in Baltimore, Maryland, Redhill was raised in the metropolitan Toronto, Ontario area. He pursued one year of study at Indiana University, and then returned to Canada, completing his education at York University and the...
, Michael Helm
Michael Helm
Michael Helm is a Canadian novelist. He was born in Eston, Saskatchewan, and received degrees in literature from the University of Saskatchewan and the University of Toronto...
, and Esta Spalding
Esta Spalding
Esta Alice Spalding is a Canadian author, screenwriter and poet who won the Pat Lowther Award in 2000 for Lost August. Born in Boston, Massachusetts to Phillip Spalding and Linda Spalding, she grew up in Hawaii and currently resides in Guelph, Ontario....
. In 1988, Ondaatje was made an Officer of the Order of Canada
Order of Canada
The Order of Canada is a Canadian national order, admission into which is, within the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, the second highest honour for merit...
(OC) and two years later a Foreign Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters.
Ondaatje has two children and is the brother of philanthropist, businessman and author Christopher Ondaatje
Christopher Ondaatje
Sir Philip Christopher Ondaatje, OC, CBE is a Sri Lankan-Canadian businessman, philanthropist, adventurer, writer and Olympian. He lives in the United Kingdom.-Overview:...
. Ondaatje's nephew David is a film director and screenwriter who made the 2009 film The Lodger
The Lodger (2009 film)
The Lodger is an 2009 mystery/thriller film directed by David Ondaatje and starring Alfred Molina, Hope Davis and Simon Baker. It is based on the novel The Lodger by Marie Belloc Lowndes, filmed previously by Alfred Hitchcock in 1927, by Maurice Elvey in 1932, by John Brahm in 1944, and as Man in...
.
Novels
- 1976: Coming Through SlaughterComing Through SlaughterComing Through Slaughter is a novel by Michael Ondaatje, published by House of Anansi in 1976. It was the winner of the 1976 Books in Canada First Novel Award....
(also see "Other" section, 1980, below), Toronto: Anansi ISBN 0393087654 ; New York: W. W. Norton, 1977 - 1987: In the Skin of a LionIn the Skin of a LionIn the Skin of a Lion is a novel by Canadian/Sri Lankan writer Michael Ondaatje. It was first published in 1987 by McClelland and Stewart. The novel fictionalises the lives of the immigrants whose contributions to building Toronto in the early 1900s never became part of the city's official history...
, New York: Knopf, ISBN 0394563638, ISBN 0140113096 - 1992: The English PatientThe English PatientThe English Patient is a 1992 novel by Sri Lankan-Canadian novelist Michael Ondaatje. The story deals with the gradually revealed histories of a critically burned English accented Hungarian man, his Canadian nurse, a Canadian-Italian thief, and an Indian sapper in the British Army as they live out...
, New York: Knopf, ISBN 0679416781, ISBN 0679745203 - 2000: Anil's GhostAnil's GhostAnil’s Ghost is the critically acclaimed fourth novel by Michael Ondaatje. It was first published in 2000 by McClelland and Stewart.Anil’s Ghost follows the life of Anil Tissera, a native Sri Lankan who left to study in the United States on a scholarship, during which time she has become a forensic...
, New York: Knopf, ISBN 0375410538 - 2007: DivisaderoDivisadero (novel)Divisadero is a novel by Michael Ondaatje, first published on April 17, 2007 by McClelland and Stewart.-Synopsis:The novel centres on a single father and his children: Anna, his natural daughter; Claire, who was adopted as a baby when Anna was born; and Cooper , who was taken in "to stay and work...
, ISBN 0307266354 ISBN 9780307266354 - 2011: The Cat's Table, ISBN 978-0-7710-6864-5, ISBN 0-7710-6864-6
Poetry collections
- 1962: Social Call, The Love Story, In Search of Happiness, all featured in The Mitre: Lennoxville: Bishop University Press
- 1967: The Dainty Monsters, Toronto: Coach House Press
- 1969: The Man with Seven Toes, Toronto: Coach House Press
- 1970: The Collected Works of Billy the Kid: Left-handed Poems (also see "Other" section, 1973, below), Toronto: Anansi ISBN 0887840183 ; New York: Berkeley, 1975
- 1973: Rat Jelly, Toronto: Coach House Press
- 1978: Elimination Dance/La danse eliminatoire, Ilderton: Nairn Coldstream; revised edition, Brick, 1980
- 1979: There's a Trick with a Knife I'm Learning to Do: Poems, 1963-1978, New York: W. W. Norton (New York, NY), 1979 ISBN 0393011917, ISBN 039302100X
- published as Rat Jelly, and Other Poems, 1963-1978, London, United Kingdom: Marion Boyars, 1980
- 1984: Secular Love, Toronto: Coach House Press, ISBN 0889102880, ISBN 0393019918 ; New York: W. W. Norton, 1985
- 1986: All along the Mazinaw: Two Poems (broadside), Milwaukee, Wisconsin: Woodland Pattern
- 1986: Two Poems, Woodland Pattern, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
- 1989: The Cinnamon PeelerThe Cinnamon Peeler"The Cinnamon Peeler" is a critically acclaimed lyric poem by the Canadian writer Michael Ondaatje....
: Selected Poems, London, United Kingdom: Pan; New York: Knopf, 1991 - 1998: Handwriting, Toronto: McClelland & Stewart; New York: Knopf, 1999 ISBN 0375405593
- 2006: The Story, Toronto: House of Anansi, ISBN 0887841945
Editor
- 1971: The Broken Ark, animal verse; Ottawa: Oberon; revised as A Book of Beasts, 1979 ISBN 0887500501
- 1977: Personal Fictions: Stories by Munro, Wiebe, Thomas, and Blaise, Toronto: Oxford University Press ISBN 0195402774
- 1979: A Book of Beasts, animal verse; Ottawa: Oberon; revision of The Broken Ark, 1971
- 1979: The Long Poem Anthology, Toronto: Coach House ISBN 0889101779
- 1989: With Russell BanksRussell BanksRussell Banks is an American writer of fiction and poetry.- Biography :Russell Banks was born in Newton, Massachusetts on March 28, 1940. He attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He lives in upstate New York, and has been named a New York State Author. He is also...
and David YoungDavid Young (Canadian playwright)David Samuel D'Arcy Young is a Canadian playwright, novelist, and screenwriter.Born in Oakville, Ontario, Young studied at the University of Western Ontario...
, Brushes with Greatness: An Anthology of Chance Encounters with Greatness, Toronto: Coach House, 1989 - 1989: Edited with Linda SpaldingLinda SpaldingLinda Spalding is a Canadian writer and editor. Born in Topeka, Kansas, the daughter of Jacob Alan Dickinson and Edith Senner, she lived in Mexico and Hawaii before moving to Toronto, Ontario in 1982....
, The Brick Anthology, illustrated by David Bolduc, Toronto: Coach House Press - 1990: From Ink Lake: An Anthology of Canadian Short Stories; New York: Viking ISBN 0394281381
- 1990: The Faber Book of Contemporary Canadian Short Stories; London, United Kingdom: Faber
- 2000: Edited with Michael Redhill, Esta Spalding and Linda Spalding, Lost Classics, Toronto: Knopf Canada ISBN 0-676-97299-3 ; New York: Anchor, 2001
- 2002: Edited and wrote introduction, Mavis GallantMavis GallantMavis Leslie Gallant, , née Mavis Leslie Young is a Canadian writer.-Biography:An only child, Gallant was born in Montreal, Quebec. Her father died when she was young, and her mother remarried. Gallant received her education at seventeen different public, convent, and French-language boarding...
, Paris Stories, New York: New York Review Books
Other
- 1970: Leonard Cohen (literary criticism), Toronto: McClelland & Stewart
- 1973: The Collected Works of Billy the Kid (play; based on his poetry; see "Poetry" section, 1970, above), produced in Stratford, OntarioStratford, OntarioStratford is a city on the Avon River in Perth County in southwestern Ontario, Canada with a population of 32,000.When the area was first settled by Europeans in 1832, the townsite and the river were named after Stratford-upon-Avon, England. It is the seat of Perth County. Stratford was...
; produced in New York, 1974; produced in London, England, 1984 - 1979: Claude Glass (literary criticism), Toronto: Coach House Press
- 1980: Coming through Slaughter (play based on his novel; see "Novels" section, 1976, above), first produced in Toronto
- 1982: Running in the FamilyRunning in the Family (memoir)Running in the Family is a fictionalized memoir, written in post-modern style involving aspects of magic realism, by Michael Ondaatje. It deals with his return to his native island of Sri Lanka, also called Ceylon, in the late 1970s....
, memoir, New York: W. W. Norton, ISBN 0393016374, ISBN 0771068840 - 1982: Tin Roof, British Columbia, Canada: Island, ISBN 0919479103, ISBN 0919479936
- 1987: In the Skin of a Lion (based on his novel), New York: Knopf
- 1994: Edited with B. P. Nichol and George BoweringGeorge BoweringGeorge Harry Bowering, OC, OBC is a prolific Canadian novelist, poet, historian, and biographer. He has served as Canada's Parliamentary Poet Laureate....
, An H in the Heart: A Reader, Toronto: McClelland & Stewart - 1996: Wrote introduction, Anthony MinghellaAnthony MinghellaAnthony Minghella, CBE was an English film director, playwright and screenwriter. He was Chairman of the Board of Governors at the British Film Institute between 2003 and 2007....
, adaptor, The English Patient: A Screenplay, New York: Hyperion Miramax - 2002: The Conversations: Walter Murch and the Art of Editing Film, New York: Knopf ISBN 0676974740
- 2002: Films by Michael Ondaatje
- 2004: Vintage Ondaatje, ISBN 1400077443
See also
- Colombo Chettys
- Christopher OndaatjeChristopher OndaatjeSir Philip Christopher Ondaatje, OC, CBE is a Sri Lankan-Canadian businessman, philanthropist, adventurer, writer and Olympian. He lives in the United Kingdom.-Overview:...
- Kim OndaatjeKim OndaatjeKim Ondaatje is a Canadian painter, photographer, and documentary filmmaker.-Biography:Born in Toronto, Ontario, Ondaatje studied at the Ontario College of Art and McGill University. She completed a M.A. in Canadian Literature at Queen's University, while on a teaching fellowship...
- Pearl OndaatjePearl OndaatjePearl Ondaatje was a pioneer of Radio Ceylon the oldest radio station in South Asia. She was one of the radio station's first female newsreaders and a presenter of radio programs, including programs for women listeners of the radio station....
Further reading
- Barbour, Douglas. Michael Ondaatje. New York: Twayne, 1993. ISBN 0-8057-8290-7
- Jewinski, Ed. Michael Ondaatje: Express Yourself Beautifully." Toronto: ECW, 1994. ISBN 1-55022-189-2
External links
- Full text of The Dainty Monsters
- "Adventures in the Skin Trade" PEN World Voices at LIVE from the New York Public Library. 4 May 2008 (Video, 1hr, 6 min)
- Transcript of interview with Ramona KovalRamona KovalRamona Koval is an Australian broadcaster, writer and journalist.Her parents were Yiddish-speaking survivors of the Holocaust who arrived in Melbourne from Poland in 1950....
on The Book ShowThe Book ShowThe Book Show is an Australian ABC radio program for the discussion of everything relating to the written word. It is broadcast live around Australia on Radio National with a daily weekday morning show which is then replayed nightly and also has a Sunday evening show. The show is hosted by Ramona...
, ABC Radio National on DivisaderoDivisadero-Mexico:* Divisadero, Chihuahua, a town on the Ferrocarril Chihuahua al Pacífico * Divisaderos, Sonora-United States:* Divisadero Street, in San Francisco* Divisadero Street, in Visalia, California- Other :...
recorded in Montreal, April 2007. - Profile. Emory University
- Order of Canada Citation
- Michael Ondaatje's entry in The Canadian Encyclopedia
- Salon Interview With Ondaatje November 1996