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Michael Ondaatje

マイケル・オンダーチェ

Michael Ondaatje

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1943-09-12 （Colombo, Western Province, British Ceylon (now Sri Lanka)）
Nationality
Sri Lanka, Canada
Languages
English
Residence History
Colombo, Sri Lanka → England (London; Dulwich) → Montreal, Canada → Toronto, Canada → London, Ontario, Canada

Career

Occupations
author, poet, novelist, essayist, editor, academic lecturer
Active Years
1967-
Affiliations
Coach House Books (editorial), Brick (literary journal, co-editor), Griffin Poetry Prize (founding trustee), Teaching posts at University of Western Ontario, Glendon College (York University), etc.
Memberships
Royal Society of Literature (Fellow), American Academy of Arts and Letters (Foreign Honorary Member)

Education

Dulwich College
Period: 1950年代 - 1950s (在学年は資料による)
Country: United Kingdom
Attended school after rejoining his mother in England
Bishop's University
Period: 1962–1965（在籍約3年）
Country: Canada
Moved to Montreal and studied at Bishop's College School and Bishop's University
University of Toronto
English
Degree: Bachelor of Arts
Period: 1965（学位取得）
Year of Graduation: 1965
Country: Canada
Received Bachelor of Arts degree
Queen's University at Kingston
English (graduate)
Degree: Master of Arts
Period: 学士取得後（詳細年不明）
Country: Canada
Received a Master of Arts (exact year not specified)

Awards

Booker Prize
1992
Work: The English Patient
Organization: The Booker Prize
Result: winner
Golden Man Booker Prize
2018
Work: The English Patient
Organization: The Booker Prize Foundation
Result: winner
Governor General's Award (Poetry)
1970
Work: The Collected Works of Billy the Kid (poetry)
Category: Poetry
Organization: Governor General of Canada
Result: winner
Governor General's Award (Poetry)
1979
Work: There's a Trick with a Knife I'm Learning to Do (poetry)
Category: Poetry
Organization: Governor General of Canada
Result: winner
Governor General's Award (English-language fiction)
2000
Work: Anil's Ghost
Category: Fiction
Organization: Governor General of Canada
Result: winner
Governor General's Award (English-language fiction)
2007
Work: Divisadero
Category: Fiction
Organization: Governor General of Canada
Result: winner
Giller Prize
2000
Work: Anil's Ghost
Organization: Scotiabank Giller Prize
Result: winner
Prix Médicis (étranger)
2000
Work: Anil's Ghost
Organization: Prix Médicis
Result: winner
Booker Prize (longlist)
2018
Work: Warlight
Organization: The Booker Prize
Result: longlisted
Sri Lanka Ratna
2005
Organization: Government of Sri Lanka
Result: recipient
Order of Canada (Companion)
2016
Organization: Government of Canada
Result: Companion (upgraded from Officer)
Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature
2012
Organization: Royal Society of Literature
Result: elected fellow
St. Louis Literary Award
2016
Organization: St. Louis Literary Award
Result: recipient

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

The English Patient

1992 Novel (historical fiction)

A novel interweaving the lives and memories of characters around a mysterious, badly burned patient in the aftermath of World War II. Adapted into the 1996 film that won multiple Academy Awards including Best Picture.

memoryeffects of waridentitylove and loss
Adaptations
  • [Film] The English Patient (film) / Anthony Minghella (1996)

Anil's Ghost

2000 Novel (literary fiction)

Set in post-war Sri Lanka, forensic archaeologist Anil investigates deaths that reveal national crimes, exploring history and personal memory.

history and memorypolitical violencejustice and ethics

Divisadero

2007 Novel

A multi-perspective, time-shifting narrative exploring memory, loss, and the reconstruction of relationships; later adapted for the stage.

memoryhuman relationshipsloss
Adaptations
  • [Stage (play)] Divisadero (stage adaptation) / Daniel Brooks（共同制作） (2011)

In the Skin of a Lion

1987 Novel

A novel about early immigrants in Toronto, depicting the city's formation through the perspectives of marginalized characters.

immigrationurban historylabor and class

Running in the Family

1982 Memoir (non-fiction)

A memoir mixing childhood memories and family history, focusing on his upbringing in Ceylon (Sri Lanka).

family historymemoryimmigrant experience

Coming Through Slaughter

1976 Novel

A novel inspired loosely by jazz pioneer Buddy Bolden and photographer E. J. Bellocq in New Orleans; noted for its innovative narrative and poetic language.

artist's lifemadness and creationmusic
Adaptations
  • [Stage] Coming Through Slaughter (stage adaptation) (1980)

The Collected Works of Billy the Kid (poetry)

1970 Poetry

An early landmark poetry collection combining mythic material and prose-poem fragments; highly acclaimed in Canada.

myth-makingidentitylinguistic experimentation
Adaptations
  • [Stage] The Collected Works of Billy the Kid (play) (1973)

Warlight

2018 Novel

Set in postwar London, this novel explores memory and mysteries of childhood, praised for its quiet, elegant prose.

postwarchildhoodmemory and secrets

Bibliography

  • The Dainty Monsters (1967)
  • The Collected Works of Billy the Kid (1970)
  • Coming Through Slaughter (1976)
  • In the Skin of a Lion (1987)
  • The English Patient (1992)
  • Anil's Ghost (2000)
  • Divisadero (2007)
  • The Cat's Table (2011)
  • Warlight (2018)
  • A Year of Last Things (2024)

Adaptations

  • The English Patient (1996 film, dir. Anthony Minghella)
  • Coming Through Slaughter (stage adaptation)
  • Divisadero (stage adaptation)
  • The Collected Works of Billy the Kid (play)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
lyrical prosefragmented and polyphonic narrationnarration emphasizing memory and imagery
Recurring Motifs
memory and forgettingmigration and identityaftermath of warurban and labor history

Legacy

Ondaatje began as a poet and expanded his lyrical, experimental style into novels and non-fiction. He became a major figure in Canadian literature, achieved international recognition with The English Patient and its film adaptation, won numerous literary awards, and established the Gratiaen Trust to support Sri Lankan writing.

Academic Societies

  • Royal Society of Literature
  • American Academy of Arts and Letters (Foreign Honorary Member)

Archives

  • Ondaatje Letters (archival collection)

In Popular Culture

  • The English Patient film (1996) won Best Picture at the Academy Awards and other major awards, bringing wide recognition.

Quotes

  • He has been "fostering new Canadian writing"
    Source: Wikipedia (article)

Trivia

  • A new spider species discovered in Sri Lanka, Brignolia ondaatjei, was named after him in 2016.
  • He established the Gratiaen Trust, which awards the Gratiaen Prize to Sri Lankan writers.
  • In 2015 he withdrew as a literary host from a PEN America event in protest over an award to Charlie Hebdo.