Biographical Overview & Key Facts

Subject:

Michael Ondaatje

Role / Field:

Sri Lankan-born Canadian poet, novelist, and essayist celebrated for lyrical fiction.

Born:

1943-09-12

Century / Era:

1943s Historical Era

Database Source:

2Day Chrono-Wiki & Wikipedia CC BY-SA 4.0

Origins & Early Life

Philip Michael Ondaatje (; born 12 September 1943) is a Sri Lankan-born Canadian poet, fiction writer and essayist. Ondaatje's literary career began with his poetry: in 1967 he published The Dainty Monsters, and in 1970 the critically acclaimed The Collected Works of Billy the Kid. His novel The English Patient (1992), adapted as a film in 1996, received the Booker Prize in 1992. It later won the Golden Man Booker Prize as the best of the first 51 Booker Prize winners.

Pivotal Works & Achievements

Ondaatje has been "fostering new Canadian writing" with two decades' commitment to Coach House Press (ca. 1970–1990), where he edited, among other authors, Daphne Marrlatt's early poems. His editorial credits include the journal Brick, and the Long Poem Anthology (1979), among others. Ondaatje was born in Colombo, Ceylon (today's Sri Lanka), in 1943, to Major Mervyn Ondaatje and Doris Gratiaen of Tamil and Burgher (Dutch and Sinhalese) descent. His parents later separated.

Enduring Legacy & Impact

In 1954, he re-joined his mother in England. where he attended Dulwich College. He emigrated to Montreal, Quebec, in 1962, and studied at Bishop's College School and Bishop's University in Lennoxville, Quebec, for three...

Contemporary Figures & Related Historical Timelines

• Akaji Maro — Contemporary (Born in 1943) (1943): Pioneering Japanese butoh performer, director, and acclaimed film actor.
• Alexandre Yersin — Contemporary (Died in 1943) (1943): Pioneering Swiss-French physician and bacteriologist, renowned for plague and diphtheria research.
• Alvy Ray Smith — Contemporary (Born in 1943) (1943): Pioneering computer scientist and co-founder of Pixar Animation Studios.
• Alexander Radishchev — Shared historical date (09-12 · Died) (1802): Pioneering Russian author and social critic, known for 'Journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow'
• Amílcar Cabral — Shared historical date (09-12 · Born) (1924): Bissau-Guinean anti-colonial leader, intellectual, and revolutionary poet.
• Andreas Baader — Historical peer (Born in 1943) (1943): West German communist and leader of the far-left terrorist organization Red Army Faction (RAF).
• Antonio Inoki — Historical peer (Born in 1943) (1943): Pioneering Japanese wrestler, martial artist, and political figure.
• Akshay Kumar — Historical peer (Born in 1967) (1967): Veteran Indian actor and producer, celebrated for action roles and prolific career.
• Albert Luthuli — Historical peer (Died in 1967) (1967): Pioneering anti-apartheid activist and leader of the ANC in South Africa.
• Abraham Maslow — Historical peer (Died in 1970) (1970): Pioneering American psychologist known for the Hierarchy of Needs and self-actualization theory.
• 1943 Historical Timeline & Archive — Explore world events and figures from 1943
• September 12 (09-12) On This Day — Historical birthdays and events on September 12

Frequently Asked Questions about Michael Ondaatje