There's a Trick With a Knife I'm Learning to Do: Poems, 1962-1978

by Michael Ondaatje

Selected and new poems offer glimpses of a private world in which images of horror are viewed through mirrors and prisms and in which madmen and animals inhabit a landscape of fearful natural beauty.

Genres: Poetry, Canada, Fiction, Literary Fiction

107 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1979

About the author

Philip Michael Ondaatje is a Sri Lankan-born Canadian poet, fiction writer, and essayist, renowned for his contributions to both poetry and prose. He was born in Colombo in 1943, to a family of Tamil and Burgher descent. Ondaatje emigrated to Canada in 1962, where he pursued his education, obtaining a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Toronto and a Master of Arts from Queen's University.
Ondaatje’s literary career began in 1967 with his poetry collection The Dainty Monsters, followed by his celebrated The Collected Works of Billy the Kid in 1970. His poetry earned him numerous accolades, including the Governor General’s Award for his collection There's a Trick with a Knife I'm Learning to Do: Poems 1973–1978 in 1979. He published 13 books of poetry, exploring diverse themes and poetic forms.
In 1992, Ondaatje gained international fame with the publication of his novel The English Patient, which won the Booker Prize and was later adapted into an Academy Award-winning film. His other notable works include In the Skin of a Lion (1987), Anil’s Ghost (2000), and Divisadero (2007), which won the Governor General’s Award. Ondaatje’s novel Warlight (2018) was longlisted for the Booker Prize.
Aside from his writing, Ondaatje has been influential in fostering Canadian literature. He served as an editor at Coach House Books, contributing to the promotion of new Canadian voices. He also co-edited Brick, A Literary Journal, and worked as a founding trustee of the Griffin Trust for Excellence in Poetry.
Ondaatje’s work spans various forms, including plays, documentaries, and essays. His 2002 book The Conversations: Walter Murch and the Art of Editing Film earned him critical acclaim and won several awards. His plays have been adapted from his novels, including The Collected Works of Billy the Kid and Coming Through Slaughter.
Over his career, Ondaatje has been honored with several prestigious awards. He was named an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1988, upgraded to Companion in 2016, and received the Sri Lanka Ratna in 2005. In 2016, a new species of spider, Brignolia ondaatjei, was named in his honor.
Ondaatje’s personal life is also intertwined with his literary pursuits. He has been married to novelist Linda Spalding, and the couple co-edits Brick. He has two children from his first marriage and is the brother of philanthropist Sir Christopher Ondaatje. He was also involved in a public stand against the PEN American Center's decision to honor Charlie Hebdo in 2015, citing concerns about the publication's anti-Islamic content.
Ondaatje’s enduring influence on literature and his ability to blend personal history with universal themes in his writing continue to shape Canadian and world literature.

Reviews

[Andrew Sare · Rating 4 out of 5]

It seems that Ondaatje came to Canada from Sri Lanka in 1962 like a prince coming home. In his earlier work he nails the zeitgeist and pushes pop culture forward with a silver tongue (or pen), just riffing the hits.

This collection, which includes work from The Dainty Monsters (1963-67) Rat Jelly (1967-73 and Pig Glass 1973-78, like the work of many young male poets, is dripping with macho sexual tension anger and awakening, which is great, if not something that has been done before.

Here is a favorite, though by no means representative of the broad range of language contained:

"RAT JELLY

See the rat in the jelly
steaming dirty hair
frozen, bring it out on a glass tray
split the pie four ways and eat
I took great care cooking a treat for you
and tho it looks good to yuh
and tho it smells of the Westinghouse still
and tastes of exotic fish or maybe the expensive arse of a cow
I want you to know it's rat
steamy and dirty hair and still alive

(caught him last sunday
thinking of the fridge, thinking of you"

[Kasandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

The earliest work here is often very mysterious, and intriguing. The shorter poems are frequently the most powerful. One of my favorites was "Biography", about a dog, which contains striking imagery and a sense of longing. "Application for a Driving License", even shorter, is also visually arresting and potent. Ondaatje has a painterly eye and way with imagery (with references to Rousseau and Chagall, among others, who happen to be 2 of my favorites), and a dry, dark sense of humor which I particularly like. Much of his work centers on family, drawing the reader in without being overly sentimental, and his love poems are erotic and intense, naked in their honesty and stripped down to verbal necessary minimums while still speaking to a universal audience (so hard!). I especially liked "Postcard from Picadilly Street", "White Room", "Spider Blues", "Country Night", "Buying the Dog", "Sweet Like a Crow", and "Light" (as the book goes on, I liked the poems more and more -- not sure whether this was due to adjusting to/learning his style/voice, or whether this shows a maturation process, since the book covers a 15 year period. Probably both.) Well worth reading.

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Came into being for "Sweet Like Crow" and stayed to be sliced by beating rhythms. For those who wear many skins, and choose to shed those same skins, over time.

Like the works of Dionne Brand, I much prefer Ondaatje's poetry over prose. In verse, they both account for displacement and inventory by inbetweening frames. Steady pace, fragmented thoughts, honest sin.

[Craig Werner · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love Ondaatje and there are moments in this collection of his early poetry where you can clearly see what's coming. Divided into three sections, the book traces the development of the voice that blossomed in The Collected Works of Billy the Kid and Coming Through Slaughter. A few of the poems that worked for me: Billboards, Spider Blues, The gate in his head, Country Night, and Light.

[Samuel DiSalle · Rating 4 out of 5]

i've wanted to read this for a while and was not disappointed. some of the poems i didn't understand and felt dumb for not understanding them but a lot of them were very beautiful and meaningful. my favorite was probably "war machine".

[Thomas Jr. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I remember loving this collection when I first read if decades ago. The title itself is worth the purchase--almost like "The last berries my late uncle tried to eat."

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Poems. Some good some not to my taste.

[Bella · Rating 2 out of 5]

« Love, the real,
terrifies
the dreamer in his root cell. »

Ondaatje has a way with words but I prefer his prose.

[Michael Vagnetti · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tiny narratives, not quite compressed or distilled, that lurch and mist into story. Usually the same form and mode: stanzas divided at the phrase, with occasional word-drifts, and a poem with stanzas that starts with commas. Often domestic in subject, without being domesticated, he can take on dogs, moons, and wives without making the reader feel like they're drinking dishwater. Sutured and grafted worlds, unconcerned with posing, evenness, form, length, depth, or avoiding repetition. I'm fondest of the middle section, Rat Jelly.

[Ruth Seeley · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful collection of Ondaatje's poetry. The original cover has this image but a much better font (for those who care about these things, and I do). I continue to reread and to share poems from this collection.

[C · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another one where I liked some but not all. Still, Ondaatje in general makes my heart beat really fast.

[Carole · Rating 5 out of 5]

more later.

[Ryan Masters · Rating 5 out of 5]

In many ways, better than his fiction.

[Laurie Stephenson · Rating 5 out of 5]

it scarred me - in a good way

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Play a life game. How many times and places will you read "Letters and Other Worlds"?

[Jules · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ondaatje's meditative speakers reflect on the family, artifacts and light. This is a candid collection of introspective verse.

[Rita Pollard · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think his poetry is even better than his fiction.