Michael Ondaatje facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Michael Ondaatje
CC, FRSL
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Ondaatje speaking at Tulane University, 2010
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| Born | Philip Michael Ondaatje 12 September 1943 Colombo, Western Province, British Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) |
| Occupation | Author |
| Language | English |
| Education | Dulwich College |
| Alma mater | University of Toronto Queen's University Bishop's University |
| Notable works |
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| Notable awards | Governor General's Award – Poetry Booker Prize Giller Prize Prix Médicis étranger Order of Canada St. Louis Literary Award |
| Spouse | Linda Spalding |
| Relatives | Christopher Ondaatje (brother) |
Philip Michael Ondaatje (born September 12, 1943) is a famous Sri Lankan-born Canadian writer. He writes poetry, novels, and essays.
Ondaatje started his writing career with poetry in 1967. He published The Dainty Monsters first. In 1970, he released The Collected Works of Billy the Kid: Left-Handed Poems, which was highly praised. His novel The English Patient (1992) became very well-known. It was made into a movie in 1996. This novel won the Booker Prize in 1992. Later, it also won the Golden Man Booker Prize as the best Booker Prize winner from the first 51 years.
Michael Ondaatje has also helped new Canadian writers. For about 20 years (from 1970 to 1990), he supported Coach House Press. He also edited the magazine Brick and The Long Poem Anthology (1979).
Contents
Michael Ondaatje's Early Life and School
Michael Ondaatje was born in Colombo, Sri Lanka, in 1943. His parents were Major Mervyn Ondaatje and Doris Gratiaen. His family had roots in Tamil, Burgher (Dutch), and Sinhalese cultures.
In 1954, he moved to England to live with his mother. There, he went to Dulwich College. In 1962, he moved to Montreal, Quebec, in Canada. He studied at Bishop's College School and Bishop's University for three years. He then earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Toronto in 1965. After that, he got a Master of Arts from Queen's University at Kingston.
The poet D. G. Jones noticed Michael Ondaatje's talent for poetry early on. Ondaatje later taught English at the University of Western Ontario. In 1971, he taught English literature at Glendon College, York University.
Michael Ondaatje's Famous Books and Poems
Michael Ondaatje has written 13 books of poetry. He won the Governor General's Award for The Collected Works of Billy the Kid (1970). He also won this award for There's a Trick With a Knife I'm Learning to Do: Poems 1973–1978 (1979).
His novel Anil's Ghost (2000) won several awards. These include the 2000 Giller Prize, the Prix Médicis, and the Governor General's Award.
The English Patient (1992) is one of his most famous novels. It won the Booker Prize and the Governor General's Award. This book was made into a movie that won an Academy Award for Best Picture.
In the Skin of a Lion (1987) is a novel about early immigrants in Toronto. It won the 1988 City of Toronto Book Award. It also won the first Canada Reads competition in 2002. Coming Through Slaughter (1976) is a novel set in New Orleans, Louisiana, around 1900. It is based on the lives of jazz musician Buddy Bolden and photographer E. J. Bellocq. This book won the 1976 Books in Canada First Novel Award. Running in the Family (1982) is a book about his own childhood.
Ondaatje's novel Divisadero won the 2007 Governor General's Award. In 2018, his novel Warlight was considered for the Booker Prize.
Books Made into Movies and Plays
Many of Michael Ondaatje's works have been adapted for the stage. The Collected Works of Billy the Kid, Coming Through Slaughter, and Divisadero have all been performed as plays. These plays have been shown in North America and Europe.
Besides The English Patient movie, Ondaatje has also made films. He created a documentary about the poet B.P. Nichol called Sons of Captain Poetry. He also made The Clinton Special: A Film About The Farm Show. This film is about a special theater project from 1971.
In 2002, Ondaatje wrote a non-fiction book called The Conversations: Walter Murch and the Art of Editing Film. This book won special awards for being an excellent book about filmmaking.
Awards and Special Recognitions
In 1988, Michael Ondaatje was made an Officer of the Order of Canada. This is a high honor in Canada. In 2016, he was promoted to Companion of the Order of Canada, which is the highest level. Two years later, he became an honorary member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters.
In 2005, he received the Sri Lanka Ratna. This is the highest honor given by the Government of Sri Lanka to people from other countries. In 2008, he received the Golden Plate Award from the American Academy of Achievement. He was also chosen as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 2012.
In 2016, a new type of spider found in Sri Lanka was named after him. It is called Brignolia ondaatjei.
Michael Ondaatje's Public Views
In April 2015, Michael Ondaatje was one of several writers who decided not to host an event for the PEN American Center. This happened when the organization gave an award to Charlie Hebdo. Ondaatje and other writers were concerned that the award seemed to support material that could be seen as offensive to some groups.
Michael Ondaatje's Personal Life
Since the 1960s, Michael Ondaatje has worked as a poetry editor for Coach House Books in Toronto. He and his wife, Linda Spalding, who is also a writer, co-edit Brick, A Literary Journal. They work with other editors like Michael Redhill, Michael Helm, and Esta Spalding.
From 2000 to 2018, Ondaatje was a founding member of the board for the Griffin Trust for Excellence in Poetry. He also started the Gratiaen Trust in Sri Lanka. This trust gives out the Gratiaen Prize every year to Sri Lankan writers.
Michael Ondaatje has two children with his first wife, Canadian artist Kim Ondaatje. His brother, Sir Christopher Ondaatje, is a businessman and writer. Michael Ondaatje's nephew, David Ondaatje, is a film director and screenwriter.
Michael Ondaatje's Published Works
Novels
- 1976: Coming Through Slaughter
- 1987: In the Skin of a Lion
- 1992: The English Patient
- 2000: Anil's Ghost
- 2007: Divisadero
- 2011: The Cat's Table
- 2018: Warlight
Poetry Collections
- 1962: Social Call, The Love Story, In Search of Happiness (featured in The Mitre)
- 1967: The Dainty Monsters
- 1969: The Man with Seven Toes
- 1970: The Collected Works of Billy the Kid: Left-Handed Poems
- 1973: Rat Jelly
- 1978: Elimination Dance/La danse eliminatoire
- 1979: There's a Trick with a Knife I'm Learning to Do: Poems, 1963–1978
- 1984: Secular Love
- 1986: All along the Mazinaw: Two Poems
- 1986: Two Poems, Woodland Pattern
- 1989: The Cinnamon Peeler: Selected Poems
- 1998: Handwriting
- 2006: The Story
- 2024: A Year of Last Things
Editor
- 1971: The Broken Ark (animal verse)
- 1977: Personal Fictions: Stories by Munro, Wiebe, Thomas, and Blaise
- 1979: A Book of Beasts (revision of The Broken Ark)
- 1979: The Long Poem Anthology
- 1989: With Russell Banks and David Young, Brushes with Greatness: An Anthology of Chance Encounters with Greatness
- 1989: Edited with Linda Spalding, The Brick Anthology
- 1990: From Ink Lake: An Anthology of Canadian Short Stories
- 1990: The Faber Book of Contemporary Canadian Short Stories
- 2000: Edited with Michael Redhill, Esta Spalding and Linda Spalding, Lost Classics
- 2002: Edited and wrote introduction, Mavis Gallant, Paris Stories
Other Works
- 1966: The Offering (co-producer and co-screenwriter)
- 1970: Leonard Cohen (literary criticism)
- 1973: The Collected Works of Billy the Kid (play)
- 1979: Claude Glass (literary criticism)
- 1980: Coming through Slaughter (play)
- 1982: Running in the Family (memoir)
- 1982: Tin Roof
- 1987: In the Skin of a Lion (based on his novel)
- 1994: Edited with B. P. Nichol and George Bowering, An H in the Heart: A Reader
- 1996: Wrote introduction, Anthony Minghella, adaptor, The English Patient: A Screenplay
- 2002: The Conversations: Walter Murch and the Art of Editing Film
- 2002: Films by Michael Ondaatje
- 2004: Vintage Ondaatje
See also
In Spanish: Michael Ondaatje para niños
- Ondaatje Letters
- Sri Lankan Chetties
- Christopher Ondaatje
- Kim Ondaatje
- Pearl Ondaatje
- List of Bishop's College School alumni
