Reviewed By Shikha Malaviya

We began with myths and later included actual events. 
- A Gentleman Compares His Virtue to a Piece of Jade

In his latest poetry collection, Handwriting, Ondaatje's voice evokes a placidness, a quiet sense of maturity, if you will. There is a physical 'I' combined with a collective psychic one. It is the combined voice of landscape and history, telling stories of love and betrayal. The physical is placed in objects that selves of many generations inhabit. From the tooth of Buddha to maps, mirrors, and thatched roofs, Ondaatje gives us culture in various states of undress. The Zen-like quality of his words allows them roll and linger in our minds, down to the last syllable.

The following is a poetic response to Ondaatje's Handwriting

ON READING HANDWRITING

Antiquity polished
cover to cover
a woman sprawled
across a mat
in hints of leg
a shoulder
black hair
a well-oiled
tidal wave
sweeping
across the sand
of her bare back

I excavate her
along with stone Buddhas
stilt walking through
yellowed ivory
carved stories
that hum through centuries
forcing young fingers
to turn
again and again
crumbling pages