Ondaatje, Michael, 1943–, Canadian writer, b. Colombo, Sri Lanka (then Ceylon). Emigrating (1962) to Canada, he attended the Univ. of Toronto (B.A., 1965) and Queen's Univ., Ontario (M.A., 1967). He has been an English professor at Glendon College, York Univ., Toronto since 1971. His first published works were poems, noted for their mixture of fact and fiction, real and surreal. His Collected Works of Billy the Kid (1970) blends poetry, prose, and visual materials into a compelling portrait of the American outlaw. Other poetry collections include The Dainty Monsters (1967), Rat Jelly (1973), The Cinnamon Peeler (1990), and Handwriting (1998). Ondaatje is best known for his novels, which also mingle reality and imagination, exploring a variety of cultures and mingling present and past in richly evocative prose. With his most celebrated novel, The English Patient (1992; film, 1996), a tale of love and betrayal set in a ruined Italian villa during World War II, Ondaatje became the first Canadian to win the Booker Prize Booker Prize, an annual prize of £50,000 (originally £20,000) for a work of fiction by a living British, Irish, or Commonwealth writer. Great Britain's premier literary award, it has been underwritten since 1969 by the British food-distribution company
..... Click the link for more information. . His other novels are Coming through Slaughter (1976), In the Skin of a Lion (1987), and Anil's Ghost (2000). He has also written screenplays and edited anthologies and a literary journal.

Bibliography

See his memoir, Running in the Family (1982); studies by L. Mundwiler (1984), S. Solecki, ed. (1985), D. Barbour (1993), and E. Jewinski (1994).

Ondaatje, (Philip) Michael

(born Sept. 12, 1943, Colombo, Ceylon) Sri Lankan-born Canadian novelist and poet. He immigrated to Montreal at age 19 and attended the University of Toronto and Queen's University. His fascination with the American West led to one of his most celebrated works, the pastiche The Collected Works of Billy the Kid (1970). His novel The English Patient (1992, Booker Prize; film, 1996) won him international recognition; it was followed by Anil's Ghost (2000). His musical poetry and prose are a blend of myth, history, jazz, memoirs, and other forms.