Michael Ondaatje (born
September 12,
1943) is a
Canadian author.
Born in Sri Lanka (formerly Ceylon) of Dutch/Indian ancestry, in 1954 he moved to England with his mother. After relocating to Canada in 1962, he became a Canadian citizen. Ondaatje received his BA from the University of Toronto and his MA from Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario.
Although he is best known as a novelist, Ondaatje's work also encompasses memoir, poetry, and film. Besides his memoir of his childhood, Running in the Family, and his Governor General's Award winning book of poetry, There's a Trick With a Knife he is known for four works of fiction:
- The English Patient -- winner of the Booker Prize, the Canada Australia Prize, and the Canada Governor General's Award and later made into a motion picture, winning the Academy Award for Best Picture.
- In the Skin of the Lion
- Coming Through Slaughter -- a fictional story of New Orleans, Louisiana about 1900 very loosely based on jazz pioneer Buddy Bolden.
- Anil's Ghost -- winner of the 2000 Giller Prize and Canada Governor General's Award.
See also:
List of other novelists,
List of Canadian writers
Barbour, Douglas.
Michael Ondaatje. ISBN 0805782907
