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this is a very well written children's book for adults. loved it.
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The Story
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Michael Ondaatje's poems have been celebrated by readers and writers alike for containing some of the most memorable and moving verse written in the past half-century. The Story combines Ondaatje's sensual writing with watercolor illustrations by celebrated painter David Bolduc, making a unique item. Left-hand pages contain Bolduc's art while right-hand pages contain Ondaatje's poem — both typeset and in the author's own handwriting. This elegant housing is a fitting accompaniment to Ondaatje's elegaic poem, which follows his larger themes — love, memory, family, exile — even as it unfolds into "our dismantled childhoods," and offers readers the opportunity to extend its narrative into their own lives.
48 pages, Hardcover
First published November 3,2005
This edition
- Format
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48 pages, Hardcover
- Published
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March 10, 2006 by House of Anansi Press
- ISBN
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9780887841941
- ASIN
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0887841945
- 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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Community Reviews
Rating(4.4 / 5.0, 11 votes)
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11 reviews All reviews
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Finally: a bedtime story for adults! Not to mention a genre-bending combination of poetry and narrative that fascinates and inspires me as a poet. (And, obviously, as a human being.)
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Opaque but mildly lovely.
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Beautiful illustrations match with Ondaatje's words to make spooky lovely myth. I read this when I was pregnant with my son and nearly broke down crying when the king touches his pregnant wife.
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beautiful, my mom just gave this to me as a present.
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"and then the past is erased".....we are told on the first page of "THE STORY".
Children are given forty days of dreams of previous lives and then "the past is erased".
This is a beautifully written and illustrated little book that teases out questions and follows with elegiac whispers of the memories, the histories that were present before the maps were buried.
The poem takes us to a place we have already been trained to enter and conquer, only any projection past that point is unknown..... thus at the end we are left to reflect and wonder.....and hope for our future.
Michael Ondaatje magically takes the reader into his hands and transports him gently through his poem in a dreamlike haze.
This lovely little book would make a wonderful gift and knowing that all royalties go directly to a fundraising project for World Literacy of Canada is an added bonus!
Children are given forty days of dreams of previous lives and then "the past is erased".
This is a beautifully written and illustrated little book that teases out questions and follows with elegiac whispers of the memories, the histories that were present before the maps were buried.
The poem takes us to a place we have already been trained to enter and conquer, only any projection past that point is unknown..... thus at the end we are left to reflect and wonder.....and hope for our future.
Michael Ondaatje magically takes the reader into his hands and transports him gently through his poem in a dreamlike haze.
This lovely little book would make a wonderful gift and knowing that all royalties go directly to a fundraising project for World Literacy of Canada is an added bonus!
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The Story is a poem by Michael Ondaatje with drawings by David Bolduc. According to the artist's description, Bolduc "is a well-known Canadian painter who has been instrumental in defining contemporary painting". Admittedly, I found his drawings to be hit and miss...
The inclusion of Ondaatje's poem in typset and red handwriting underneath the typeset may be interesting for diehard fans of Ondaatje, but I found it distracting. That's not to suggest that I'm not a fan of Ondaatje (perhaps not diehard).
There are many memorable passages, and the overall story is compelling. The presentation is impressive (however mixed I may feel about the handwriting and drawings), but I think "The Story" would have benefited from being packaged with other poems by Ondaatje (perhaps likewise illustrated by Bolduc).
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The inclusion of Ondaatje's poem in typset and red handwriting underneath the typeset may be interesting for diehard fans of Ondaatje, but I found it distracting. That's not to suggest that I'm not a fan of Ondaatje (perhaps not diehard).
There are many memorable passages, and the overall story is compelling. The presentation is impressive (however mixed I may feel about the handwriting and drawings), but I think "The Story" would have benefited from being packaged with other poems by Ondaatje (perhaps likewise illustrated by Bolduc).
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I clearly missed the point of this book. And I was not a fan of the illustrations.
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