Author Michael Ondaatje celebrates his birthday today, the Canadian author has achieved great international acclaim for his work of fiction, non-fiction and poetry.
- Mr. Ondaatje was born in Ceylon, now known as Sri Lanka.
- His first book of poems, The Dainty Monsters, established the author as an important young Canadian writer.
- In the best known poetry work, The Collected Works of Billy the Kid: Left-Handed Poem (1970), Mr. Ondaatje writers as if he is the famous outlaw, tells his life story and speculates on his motivation. The book received Governor-General’s award for poetry, Canada’s top literary prize in 1971.
- The Collected Works of Billy the Kid has been adapted as a theatrical play.
- The Book Prize, Britain’s top honor in literature, was awarded to Mr. Ondaatje’s for his book The English Patient as well as another Governor General’s Award (1992).
- The adaptation of Mr. Ondaatje’s book, The English Patient, won the Academy Award for Best Picture of 1996.
- The protagonist of The English Patient, Hana, is the daughter of the protagonist from an earlier novel Mr. Onadaatje wrote called the In the Skin of the Lion.
- The novel Anil’s Ghost, set in Sri Lanka, won the author he Scotiabank Giller Prize, the Governor General’s Literary Award and France’s prestigious Prix Médicis.
- Divisadero, won the author a fifth Governor General’s Literary Award in 2007m, matching Hugh MacLennan’s record.
- Mr. Onadaatje is also a respected critic and editor.
Zohar – Man of la Book
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