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I love michael andaatje(sp?) His words are always so...unique. I liked the structure of his novels a bit more, but this is one solid book o words!
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The Cinnamon Peeler: Selected Poems
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Michael Ondaatje’s new selected poems, The Cinnamon Peeler, brings together poems written between 1963 and 1990, including work from his most recent collection, Secular Love. These poems bear witness to the extraordinary gifts that have won high praise for this truly original poet and novelist.
210 pages, Paperback
First published August 25,1989
This edition
- Format
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210 pages, Paperback
- Published
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January 28, 1997 by Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
- ISBN
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9780679779131
- ASIN
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0679779132
- Language
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English
About the author
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Philip Michael Ondaatje is a Sri Lankan-born Canadian poet, fiction writer, and essayist, renowned for his contributions to both poetry and prose. He was born in Colombo in 1943, to a family of Tamil and Burgher descent. Ondaatje emigrated to Canada in 1962, where he pursued his education, obtaining a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Toronto and a Master of Arts from Queen's University.
Ondaatje's literary career began in 1967 with his poetry collection The Dainty Monsters, followed by his celebrated The Collected Works of Billy the Kid in 1970. His poetry earned him numerous accolades, including the Governor General's Award for his collection There's a Trick with a Knife I'm Learning to Do: Poems 1973–1978 in 1979. He published 13 books of poetry, exploring diverse themes and poetic forms.
In 1992, Ondaatje gained international fame with the publication of his novel The English Patient, which won the Booker Prize and was later adapted into an Academy Award-winning film. His other notable works include In the Skin of a Lion (1987), Anil's Ghost (2000), and Divisadero (2007), which won the Governor General's Award. Ondaatje's novel Warlight (2018) was longlisted for the Booker Prize.
Aside from his writing, Ondaatje has been influential in fostering Canadian literature. He served as an editor at Coach House Books, contributing to the promotion of new Canadian voices. He also co-edited Brick, A Literary Journal, and worked as a founding trustee of the Griffin Trust for Excellence in Poetry.
Ondaatje's work spans various forms, including plays, documentaries, and essays. His 2002 book The Conversations: Walter Murch and the Art of Editing Film earned him critical acclaim and won several awards. His plays have been adapted from his novels, including The Collected Works of Billy the Kid and Coming Through Slaughter.
Over his career, Ondaatje has been honored with several prestigious awards. He was named an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1988, upgraded to Companion in 2016, and received the Sri Lanka Ratna in 2005. In 2016, a new species of spider, Brignolia ondaatjei, was named in his honor.
Ondaatje's personal life is also intertwined with his literary pursuits. He has been married to novelist Linda Spalding, and the couple co-edits Brick. He has two children from his first marriage and is the brother of philanthropist Sir Christopher Ondaatje. He was also involved in a public stand against the PEN American Center's decision to honor Charlie Hebdo in 2015, citing concerns about the publication's anti-Islamic content.
Ondaatje's enduring influence on literature and his ability to blend personal history with universal themes in his writing continue to shape Canadian and world literature.
Ondaatje's literary career began in 1967 with his poetry collection The Dainty Monsters, followed by his celebrated The Collected Works of Billy the Kid in 1970. His poetry earned him numerous accolades, including the Governor General's Award for his collection There's a Trick with a Knife I'm Learning to Do: Poems 1973–1978 in 1979. He published 13 books of poetry, exploring diverse themes and poetic forms.
In 1992, Ondaatje gained international fame with the publication of his novel The English Patient, which won the Booker Prize and was later adapted into an Academy Award-winning film. His other notable works include In the Skin of a Lion (1987), Anil's Ghost (2000), and Divisadero (2007), which won the Governor General's Award. Ondaatje's novel Warlight (2018) was longlisted for the Booker Prize.
Aside from his writing, Ondaatje has been influential in fostering Canadian literature. He served as an editor at Coach House Books, contributing to the promotion of new Canadian voices. He also co-edited Brick, A Literary Journal, and worked as a founding trustee of the Griffin Trust for Excellence in Poetry.
Ondaatje's work spans various forms, including plays, documentaries, and essays. His 2002 book The Conversations: Walter Murch and the Art of Editing Film earned him critical acclaim and won several awards. His plays have been adapted from his novels, including The Collected Works of Billy the Kid and Coming Through Slaughter.
Over his career, Ondaatje has been honored with several prestigious awards. He was named an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1988, upgraded to Companion in 2016, and received the Sri Lanka Ratna in 2005. In 2016, a new species of spider, Brignolia ondaatjei, was named in his honor.
Ondaatje's personal life is also intertwined with his literary pursuits. He has been married to novelist Linda Spalding, and the couple co-edits Brick. He has two children from his first marriage and is the brother of philanthropist Sir Christopher Ondaatje. He was also involved in a public stand against the PEN American Center's decision to honor Charlie Hebdo in 2015, citing concerns about the publication's anti-Islamic content.
Ondaatje's enduring influence on literature and his ability to blend personal history with universal themes in his writing continue to shape Canadian and world literature.
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A wonderful collection of Ondaatje's most resonant poems. Like his own speech, Ondaatje's verse feels accented with something exotic, so that even scrubby Eastern Ontario farmland finds a kind of narrative lushness. Filled with humour, tenderness and sensuality. The title piece is one of the most vividly olafactory and sexy love poems outside of Pablo Neruda.
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Not as evocative as his Handwriting collection, except for some lines that were the magic I have come to expect from Ondaatje. But how highly could one think of a collection of poetry written about a man's mistress? Ugh men.
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Ondaatje has a way with words that leaves you breathless.
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Ondaatje floors me. His writing is like food for the hungry. These are messy, simmering, sexy words.
Particular favorites in this collection are Cabin; 2 a.m. The moonlight in the kitchen; ('The space in which we have dissolved - does it taste of us?'); I write about you; Speaking to you this hour.
Particular favorites in this collection are Cabin; 2 a.m. The moonlight in the kitchen; ('The space in which we have dissolved - does it taste of us?'); I write about you; Speaking to you this hour.
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Some of the most phenomenal poetry I've read in a long time. Ondaatje reaches the essence of an experience with distilled language that touches your soul.
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These are wonderful poems, deft, fresh and surprising.
"The car carried him/racing the obvious moon/beating in the trees like a white bird."
"Imagine the rain/falling like white bees on the sidewalk."
"There is this light,/colorless, that falls on the warm/stretching brain of the bulb/that is dreaming avocado."
"We are in a cell of civilized magic./Stravinsky roars at breakfast,/our milk is powdered./Outside a May god/moves his paws to alter wind/to scatter shadows of tree and cloud."
"Tell me/all you know/about bamboo."
"Those things we don't know we love/we love harder"
"The car carried him/racing the obvious moon/beating in the trees like a white bird."
"Imagine the rain/falling like white bees on the sidewalk."
"There is this light,/colorless, that falls on the warm/stretching brain of the bulb/that is dreaming avocado."
"We are in a cell of civilized magic./Stravinsky roars at breakfast,/our milk is powdered./Outside a May god/moves his paws to alter wind/to scatter shadows of tree and cloud."
"Tell me/all you know/about bamboo."
"Those things we don't know we love/we love harder"
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A book of poems consisting of only one author, it's incredible to see how much the author really puts his efforts into what he loves doing. Usually, poem books consist of poems written by other authors but when I came across this book, I was surprised to find that a book with so many pages, was written by only one author and that is what makes this book so special. Poem lengths can vary from long and short and if I had to choose my favorite, it would have to be Walking to bell rock. Read it and you'll understand why I love it. That poem brings back memories and is pure. Pure of happiness and a sense of freedom.
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