“We die containing a richness of lovers and tribes, tastes we have swallowed, bodies we have plunged into and swum up as if rivers of wisdom, characters we have climbed into as if trees, fears we have hidden in as if caves. I wish for all this to be marked on my body when I am dead. I believe in such cartography – to be marked by nature, not just to label ourselves on a map like the names of rich men and women on buildings. We are communal histories, communal bodies. We are not owned or monogamous in our taste or experience.”
- Michael Ondaatje, The English Patient
Tags: life, Michael Ondaatje, novelists, poets, quotes, Sri Lankan writers, The English Patient, writers, writing
2009/05/07 at 9:37 am
Excellent. I love Ondaatje’s poetry collection, in fact it might be time to dig it out again…
2009/05/07 at 3:58 pm
Amen.
2009/05/07 at 10:29 pm
I am a huge fan of his poems too Fiona. Yep, i agree with Dale.
2009/05/08 at 7:31 pm
Beautiful, I love this writing, poetry and novels, and have you read RUnning in the Family, which I found fascinating. This is one I want to remember
2009/05/13 at 5:25 pm
Beautiful! And so very true… Don’t we all want to be cartographers? Thanks for sharing!:)
2009/05/17 at 7:43 am
oh, i love this! i underlined this part over and over in the book. and yes, his poems are stunning too!