About+The+Author

[[image:Ondaatje.jpg width="113" height="178" align="left"]]About Michael Ondaatje
Use this page to create an author profile. Consider biographical information, cultural information, information about his writing style, general topics and themes, authorship awards, writing influences and inspiration, any commentary he has made about writing or what it means to be a writer, any specific points about his background and in particular, his experiences writing //Running In The Family//, and any other information you would like to include.

"Michael Ondaatje was born in Sri Lanka, and came to Canada in 1962.

He has published: //The Dainty Monsters// (1967); //The Man with 7 toes// (1969); //Rat Jelly// (1973); //Running in the Family// (prose, 1982); //Secular Love// (1984); //In the Skin of a Lion// (prose, 1987); //The English Patient// (prose, 1992); //The Cinnamon Peeler// (selected poems, 1992). In 1970 his book of poetry and prose called //The Collected Works of Billy the Kid// was published and won the Governor General's Award. //Coming through Slaughter//, his fictional work on the life and music of the jazzman Buddy Bolden, was published in 1976 and won the Books in Canada First Novel Award. //There's a Trick with a Knife I'm Learning to Do// won the Governor General's Award in 1980. //In the Skin of a Lion// won the Trillium Award and the City of Toronto Book Award, and was shortlisted for the now defunct Ritz Paris Hemingway Award. //The English Patient// won the prestigious Booker Prize, the Governor General's Award, and the Trillium Award. The novel was made into a successful Academy Award-winning film of the same name.

Ondaatje's films include: //Sons of Captain Poetry// - on the work of poet bp Nichol - and //The Clinton Special//, about Theatre Passe Muraille's "The Farm Show." His stage version of //The Collected Works of Billy the Kid// has been performed in Canada and the U.S. as well as in Britain. //Coming through Slaughter// has also been produced for the stage.

He lives in Toronto." (Ondaatje 208: "About the Author")




 * Famous Works:**

Michael Ondaatje was born in **Ceylon****, 1943** and moved to **England** **in 1954**. He attended **Dulwich College** - Alma Mater of literary luminaries such as P. G. Wodehouse and Raymond Chandler. After relocating to **Canada** **in 1962**, Ondaatje became a Canadian citizen. He studied for a time at **Bishop's College School** and **Bishop's University** in Lennoxville, Quebec, but moved to **Toronto**, where he received his BA from the **University of Toronto** and his MA from **Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario**. He then began teaching at the **University of Western Ontario** in London, Ontario. In **1970**, he settled in Toronto and, from **1971 to 1990**, taught **English Literature** there at York University and Glendon College.

__^^^ Copy Pasted from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Ondaatje ^^^__

His first novel, __Coming Through Slaughter__ (1976), is a fictional portrait of jazz musician Buddy Bolden. __The English Patient__ (1992), set in Italy at the end of the Second World War, was joint winner of the Booker Prize for Fiction and was made into an Academy Award-winning film in 1996. __Anil's Ghost__ (2000), set in Sri Lanka, tells the story of a young female anthropologist investigating war crimes for an international human rights group.

Ondaatje's work includes **fiction**, **autobiography**, **poetry** and **film**. He has published thirteen books of poetry, and won the Governor General's Award for __The Collected Works of Billy the Kid__ (1970)

Michael Ondaatje's Family: Family Member || //Doris' Brother// ||  || Michael Ondaatje was the first Canadian winner of the prestigious Booker Prize in 1992.His first published work was a collection of poetry called, The Dainty Monsters in 1967...then came, The Man With Seven Toes (1969) and Rat Jelly (1973). His first literary award came his way in 1970 at the age of 27, when he won the Canadian Governor General' Award for his collection of poetry, entitled The Collected Work of Billy the Kid written about the legendary outlaw. He also received a second Governor General's Award in 1979 for an earlier collection of poetry, There's a Trick with a Knife I'm Learning to do (1963 - 1978). Michael Ondaatje once said, "I'm a Canadian citizen. But I always want to feel at home in Sri Lanka. I'm a member of both countries." He always stayed true to this statement especially when writing, Running in the Family.
 * Family Members || Family Roles || Descirptions of
 * Doris Grataien || //Mother// || Worked in hotels in Ceylon and England and was married fourteen years before seeking a divorce. ||
 * Mervyn Ondaatje || //Father// || Sent to England to attend a university, lied to his parents about attending college and suffered from dipsomania. ||
 * Gillian Ondaatje || //Sister // ||  ||
 * Christopher Ondaatje || //Brother// ||  ||
 * Janet Ondaatje || //Sister// ||  ||
 * Maureen || //Stepmother// ||  ||
 * Susan || //Half Sister// || Quiet, soft-spoken. Gets along well with Ondaatje, gives him a few stories from thier family ||
 * Lalla || //Grandmother// ||  ||
 * Dickie || //Lalla's Sister// ||  ||
 * Noel Gratiaen || //Lalla's Son,//
 * Willy || Lalla's Husband ||  ||