Michael Ondaatje

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Michael Ondaatje, 2010

Michael Ondaatje [ ɒnˈdɑːtʃiː ] (born September 12, 1943 in Colombo , Sri Lanka ) is a Canadian writer and poet of Dutch - Tamil - Singer ( Burgher ) origin. In 1954 he moved with his mother to England and in 1962 to Canada, where he later took on Canadian citizenship.

life and work

Ondaatje received a BA (Bachelor of Arts) from the University of Toronto and an MA (Master of Arts) from Queen's University in Kingston (Ontario) . In the mid-1960s he settled in Toronto ; from 1971 to 1983 he taught at York University and then at Glendon College in Toronto. In 1988 and 2016 he was awarded the Order of Canada , 2016 at the highest level.

His novels consist of “snapshots” of interconnected scenes, which he explores linguistically in great detail. Ondaatje's early works, which are not or not exclusively poetic, The Collected Works of Billy the Kid and Coming Through Slaughter show a language rich in images and metaphors that is strongly influenced by his origins as a poet. Constant changes in the narrative perspective and time as well as the storylines shape these works even more than Ondaatje's later novels.

While Ondaatje became known in German-speaking countries as an author of novels, his oeuvre also includes poetic and film-related works. Sons of Captain Poetry appeared in 1970, about the Canadian poet BP Nichol; Also, There's a Trick With a Knife I'm Learning to Do: Poems 1973–1978 won the Governor General's Award for Poetry in 1980 .

His novel War Light (2018) is told “so skilfully” “as otherwise only John le Carré threads it,” said Thomas E. Schmidt . It is "a novel of great literary skill, written with the routine of a brilliant author who knows how to do it."

family

Ondaatje was married to Kim Ondaatje, with whom he has two children. His second wife, Linda Spalding, is also a writer. Michael Ondaatje is the brother of the writer, philanthropist, adventurer, former entrepreneur and former participant in the Olympic Games Christopher Ondaatje .

Works

  • The Collected Works of Billy the Kid: Left-Handed Poems. 1970.
  • Coming through slaughter. 1975.
    • Buddy Boldens Blues. Translated by Adelheid Dormagen. Hanser, Munich 1995.
  • Running in the family.
    • It runs in the family. Translated by Peter Torberg . Hanser, Munich 1992.
  • In the Skin of a Lion.
    • In the skin of a lion. Translated by Peter Torberg. Hanser, Munich 1987.
    • Excerpt The bridge. In: Canada for hand luggage. Stories and reports. A cultural compass. Row: books for hand luggage. (Anthology) Ed. Anke Caroline Burger . Unionsverlag , Zurich 2010, rev. New edition 2018, pp. 187–208.
  • The English Patient . 1992.
  • Anil's ghost. 2000
    • Anil's ghost. Novel. Translated by Melanie Walz . Hanser, Munich 2000.
  • Divisadero. 2007.
  • The Cat's Table. 2011.
  • Warlight. 2018. ISBN 978-0-525-52119-8 .
additional
  • The art of film editing. Conversations with Walter Murch. Five conversations with film editor Walter Murch , whom Ondaatje got to know while filming the film The English Patient .

Film adaptations

The English Patient was made into a film, see The English Patient (film) . The 1997 film by Anthony Minghella won nine Academy Awards, including the Academy Award for Best Picture.

Awards

literature

  • Regina Männle: The 'other' literature of North America. Canada's cultural self-image as reflected in its literature. Portrayed in novels by Margaret Atwood , Michael Ondaatje and Jane Urquhart . Diploma thesis, subject of cultural and literary studies, library and media management course, University of the Media , 2004. Print: Grin Verlag, 2007 (To: In der Haut einer Löwen pp. 43–55, as well as "Leben und Werk")
  • Armando Jannetta: Onomastic devices in Michael Ondaatje's "In the skin of a Lion". In: Commonwealth. Essays and Studies. , Ed. Société d'Étude des Pays du Commonwealth, University of Paris III , specialty issue: Caribbean Literature. Vol. 13, H. 2, Spring 1991 ISSN  0395-6989 pp. 92-103.
  • Eberhard Kreutzer, entries on Ondaatje in Kindler's new literary encyclopedia : Das lyrische Werk, Der Englische Patient and In the skin of a Lion (online access via Munzinger archive through most public libraries)
  • Winfried Siemerling: The other Toronto. Oral knowledge in Michael Ondaatje's “In the skin of a lion”. In: Oral Knowledge in Modern Literature. (ScriptOralia, 18) Ed. Paul Goetsch. Narr, Tübingen 1990, pp. 171-183.

Web links

Commons : Michael Ondaatje  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Die Zeit, August 9, 2018, p. 39.
  2. ↑ a fiction based on scant surviving biographical documents of jazz pioneer Buddy Bolden based
  3. ↑ awarded the Scotiabank Giller Prize , the Prix ​​Médicis and Canada's 2000 Governor General's Award
  4. ↑ nominated for the Hammett Prize 2012. In addition: Every day one should break at least one prohibition , FAZ , February 4, 2012, p. 33.
  5. ↑ Honorary Members: Michael Ondaatje. American Academy of Arts and Letters, accessed March 18, 2019 .
  6. ↑ Also online, free of charge, individualized access, therefore required via a search engine
personal data
SURNAME Ondaatje, Michael
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Canadian writer
DATE OF BIRTH September 12, 1943
PLACE OF BIRTH Sri Lanka