D.G. Hudson - Rainforest Writing: O = ONDAATJE, Michael

Monday, April 18, 2016

O = ONDAATJE, Michael - Author, A-Z Blog Challenge 2016

A talented writer, who was born on a distant island. . .

Michael Ondaatje, Author, by CBC.ca

O = Ondaatje, Michael, Author
Theme = Authors, AtoZ

Philip Michael Ondaatje, Order of Canada, who was born September 12, 1943, is a Sri Lankan-born Canadian novelist and poet. He won the Booker Prize for The English Patient (1992) which was turned into a movie. It won many film industry awards.

Born in Colombo, Sri Lanka (formerly called Ceylon), Michael moved to England in 1954. In 1962, he relocated to Canada, became a citizen and completed his education. On 11 July 1988, Ondaatje was made an Officer of the Order of Canada.

In 2005, he was honored with Sri Lanka Ratna, the highest honour given by the Government of Sri Lanka for foreign nationals.

Ondaatje's work includes fiction, autobiography, poetry and film. He's published 13 books of poetry and 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).

'The Collected Works of Billy the Kid', Coming through Slaughter, and Vivisadero have been adapted for the stage and produced in theatrical productions across North America and Europe.

NOTE: I have a signed copy of the following book, The Collected Works of Billy the Kid obtained as a gift for a book reading which included Ondaatje in Vancouver. The cover of my book is red and black, with a man on horseback. and says Winner of the Governor-General's Award.

Cover for The Collected Works of Billy the Kid

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Have you heard of Michael Ondaatje before this? Or read any of Ondaatje's books?

Please leave a comment to let me know you were here and I'll respond.

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A to Z Challenge - 2016

It's April again and time for the 2016 Blogging from A to Z challenge This is my 4th year participating in the challenge! (Previous A to Z posts at the top of my blog page tabs are: Art A-Z, French Faves, Paris, Etc.

Thanks to originator Lee (Arlee Bird at Tossing It Out), and the co-hosts and co-host teams who make the challenge run smoothly. See the list of participants, and other important information at the A to Z Blog site. The basic idea is to blog every day in April except Sundays (26 days). On April 1st, you begin with the letter A, April 2 is the letter B, and so on. Posts can be random or use a theme.