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THE ENGLISH § COMMUNICATIONS DIVISION PRESENTS,.........

MICHAEL ONDAATJE

MICHAEL ONDAATJE was born tn Ceylon in 1943. He attended school
tn England and came to Canada in 1962.

His first book, The Dainty Monsters (Coach House Press, 1967), was
widely regarded as the most accomplished book by a new writer to
have appeared tn this country itn a long ttme,

Hts 1970 publicatton, The Collected Works of Billy the Kid (Ananst),
won the Governor-General's award. It has since been produced as a
play, first at Toronto's St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts and on
the C.B.C., and was recently staged at the Stratford Festival. It
ts currently on stage at Toronto's Free Theatre. The book will
shortly be tssued in the U.S. by Norton,

Hts other two books of poetry, The Man with Seven Toes (Coach House
Press, 1969) and Rat Jelly. (CHP 1973), have been equally well
recetved. Ondaatje ts also the author of a ertitical study

Leonard Cohen (McClelland & STewart, 1970).

 

In addtitton, ONDAATJE has made two movies, the first a 35 minute
film on fellow poet bp Nichol called "Sons of Captatn Poetry", and
the second a 70 minute ftlm of and about Theatre Passe Muratlle's
"The Farm Show" - now called "The Clinton Spectal".

ONDAATJE lives in Toronto wtth his wtfe and children and teaches
at Glendon College, York University.
Excerpts from Reviews:

-about The Datnty Monsters

"An obviously talented young poet, and his first book ts an
tmpresstve beginning...a very powerful surreal tmaginattion"
Robert Weaver, fhe Toronto Star

-about Billy the Kid

"Ondaatje's method ts paratactte and explosive"
Sheila Watson

WHEN? ‘Tuesday, 8 April, from 12 to 2 p.m.

WHERE? Surrey Campus, four-room complex

SEE YOU THERE!