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26 quotes by Michael Ondaatje

Michael Ondaatje OC Ondaatje speaking at Tulane University, 2010 Born Philip Michael Ondaatje (1943-09-12) 12 September 1943 (age 71) Colombo, Ceylon Occupation Author Language English Alma mater University of Toronto Queen's University Bishop's University Notable works The English Patient Running in the Family Divisadero In the Skin of a Lion Coming Through Slaughter Notable awards Governor General's Award - Poetry Booker Prize Giller...
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I'm a Canadian citizen. But I always want to feel at home in Sri Lanka. I'm a member of both countries.

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I don't see novels ending with any real sense of closure.

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The first sentence of every novel should be: Trust me, this will take time but there is order here, very faint, very human. Meander if you want to... →

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Truth, at the wrong time, can be dangerous.

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I see the poem or the novel ending with an open door.

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A writer uses a pen instead of a scalpel or blow torch.

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I don't have a plan for a story when I sit down to write. I would get quite bored carrying it out.

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It's why you create characters: so you can argue with yourself.

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That's Anil's path. She grows up in Sri Lanka, goes and gets educated abroad, and through fate or chance gets brought back by the Human... →

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As a writer, one is busy with archaeology.

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I tend not to know what the plot is or the story is or even the theme. Those things come later, for me.

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In the book the relationship with Katharine and Almasy is sort of only in the patient's mind.

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It doubles your perception, to write from the point of view of someone you're not.

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