Michael Ondaatje bio

Family/home: Born in Colombo, Sri Lanka, in 1943. Emigrated to England in 1954, then to Canada in 1962. Lives in Toronto with his wife, Linda Spalding, a writer and editor; has two children and two stepchildren.

Education/career: University of Toronto, B.A. (1965); Queens University, M.A. (1967). Has taught at the University of Western Ontario, Glendon College, York University and Stanford University.

Selected titles/awards: "The Collected Works of Billy the Kid" (1970, Governor General's Award); "Running in the Family" (1982); "In the Skin of a Lion" (1987); "The Cinnamon Peeler" (1991); "The English Patient" (1992, Booker Prize); "Anil's Ghost" (2000, Giller Prize and Governor General's Award); "Divisadero" (2007, Governor General's Award).

Films and documentaries: The 1996 adaptation of "The English Patient," directed by Anthony Minghella, won nine Academy Awards, including best picture. Ondaatje has made three documentaries: "The Clinton Special" (1974), about an acting troupe's experiences in an Ontario farm community; "Sons of Captain Poetry" (1970), based on the life of Canadian poet bpNichol , and "Carry on Crime and Punishment" (1970), a short-short about two poets who try to kidnap a dog.

New book he recommends: "The Outlander," by Gil Adamson (Ecco), the tale of a post-partum, hallucinatory 19-year-old who kills her husband and flees into the Canadian wilderness.

A cause he supports: Dignitas International, an organization working to increase access to AIDS/HIV treatment and care in the developing world.