HANDWRITING
By MICHAEL ONDAATJE
New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1999. 78 pages, $22
Joe Kovacs
The first poem in this collection, "A Gentleman Compares His Virtue to a Piece of Jade," sets an example of what will follow-visions of Sri Lanka, with an emphasis on both the Buddhist culture and the centuries of warfare that have marked the country from ancient times to the present. Ondaatje's verse speaks romantically of battles, of kings, of myths and events, and, perhaps most importantly, of artistic records by which events are remembered. The collection reveals such an intimacy with Sri Lanka that it's hard to believe the author hasn't been a lifelong resident. Born in Colombo in 1943, Ondaatje was whisked out of the country at a young age, moving with his mother to London in 1954, and then to Canada in 1962, where he has lived ever since.
Ondaatje is fascinated by the art of storytelling and the order it lends to his homeland's brutal history. "We began with myths and later included actual events," he writes in the opening poem, making us aware of the gap between actual events and their mythical retelling. This is not the first time he has visited the theme. In his 1982 prose memoir, Running in the Family, he writes about his family history, including, among other things, his father's debilitation by alcoholism and his parents' divorce. Even though his recollections are often unpleasant, Ondaatje understands the redeeming value of his memories. The poem "Buried" is telling in this respect; it turns suddenly from memories of Buddhist monks, historical events, and stolen statues into a grueling self-portrait: "Bent over a table / shaking from fever / listening for the drowned / name of a town / There's water in my bones / a ghost of a chance." Despite the obvious pain, Ondaatje seems to be optimistic about the way to a better future. These rare glimpses of hope add to the pleasure of reading these poems.
A publisher's note at the end of Handwriting says that the poems were written between 1993 and 1998 in Sri Lanka and Canada. Ondaatje usually visits Sri Lanka at least once a year, and all of the poems were inspired there. In them, pain, memories, and the rarely mentioned, but very real hope for an improved, peaceful future for Sri Lanka are all manifest.
Joe Kovacs is press relations coordinator for NAFSA: Association of International Educators in Washington, D.C. He served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Sri Lanka from 1997 to 1998.