Michael ondaatje a stolen biography sample

          This is a form created by Michael Ondaatje..

          Aby reads and sometimes writes

          I’ve always wanted to read something by Michael Ondaatje, ever since I came across his name in Teju’s Cole’s semi auto-biography - Every day is for the thief.

          So, when my writing group suggested the following writing exercise.

          7 or 8 Things I Know About Her (A Stolen Biography).

        1. It is hybrid writing numbered fiction and prose poetry, influenced by Michael Ondaatje's "7 or 8 Thing I Know About Her (A Stolen Biography).
        2. This is a form created by Michael Ondaatje.
        3. "Forgetting Someone" Yehuda Amichai Forgetting someone is like forgetting to turn off the light in the backyard so it stays lit all the next day.
        4. MICHAEL ONDAATJE.

          5. I jumped at the chance to read Michael’s poetry and create something of my own in his style.

          Writing exercise.

          Seven or Eight Things I Know about Him/Her/They

          Goal: to 'slant' at a character by coming up with small, odd details for their life.

          What to do: 

          1.

          Read "7 or 8 Things I Know About Her' by Michael Ondaatje.

          2. Fix a character in mind - perhaps one from a work you currently have underway

          3. Write seven or eight brief 'facts' about that character, their family, their surroundings - but try to avoid the sorts of things you would include in a traditional biography.

          You can parallel the headings found in Michael Ondaatje's prose poem, if you like.

          Here’s my take

          The Father's Guns

          After a run