Sri Lankan-born Canadian essayist, poet, and Booker Prize-winning novelist Michael Ondaatje has just released a stunning collection of poems. Ondaatje is now 80 years old and it’s almost half a century since he published his first novel; even longer since he first published poetry. This week, Michael joins Read This for a conversation about A Year of Last Things and why writing remains such a joyful act of discovery.

Reading list:Coming Through Slaughter, Michael Ondaatje, 1976In the Skin of a Lion, Michael Ondaatje, 1986The Cinnamon Peeler: Selected Poems, Michael Ondaatje, 1989The English Patient, Michael Ondaatje, 1992Handwriting, Michael Ondaatje, 1998Anil's Ghost, Michael Ondaatje, 2000Divisadero, Michael Ondaatje, 2007The Cat's Table, Michael Ondaatje, 2011Warlight, Michael Ondaatje, 2018A Year of Last Things, Michael Ondaatje, 2024

The Collected Poems of W. S. Merwin, 2013

Socials: Stay in touch with Read This on Instagram and TwitterGuest: Michael Ondaatje