The Distance of a Shout: Selected Poems
Mar 2026 · Random House
Ebook
192
Pages
family_home
Eligible
info
infoThis book will become available on March 12, 2026. You will not be charged until it is released.
About this ebook
From independence movements in Sri Lanka to train stations in contemporary Ontario, an intimate and witty selection of Michael Ondaatje’s most widely loved poems taken across fifty years
'My life always stops for a new book by Michael Ondaatje' JHUMPA LAHIRI
'Each new book of Michael Ondaatje’s is a literary event, but that is particularly true for his books of poetry' TERRANCE HAYES
The poetry of Michael Ondaatje begins in memory: distant landscapes, myths from childhood, fleeting interactions with loved ones, and characters from history itself. In poems that are spare as often as they are fable-like - as tender as they are heart-wrenching - the poet navigates the past, looks toward the future, and unearths inevitable truths about the world.
Assembling Michael Ondaatje’s finest poems in one brilliant volume, The Distance of a Shout chronicles the poet’s journey - moving book to book, moment to moment, border to border - and leads the reader through the threshold of discovery itself. The Distance of a Shout is a profound and gorgeous collection by an indispensable poet of our time, and proof of why miraculous poetry endures.
'My life always stops for a new book by Michael Ondaatje' JHUMPA LAHIRI
'Each new book of Michael Ondaatje’s is a literary event, but that is particularly true for his books of poetry' TERRANCE HAYES
The poetry of Michael Ondaatje begins in memory: distant landscapes, myths from childhood, fleeting interactions with loved ones, and characters from history itself. In poems that are spare as often as they are fable-like - as tender as they are heart-wrenching - the poet navigates the past, looks toward the future, and unearths inevitable truths about the world.
Assembling Michael Ondaatje’s finest poems in one brilliant volume, The Distance of a Shout chronicles the poet’s journey - moving book to book, moment to moment, border to border - and leads the reader through the threshold of discovery itself. The Distance of a Shout is a profound and gorgeous collection by an indispensable poet of our time, and proof of why miraculous poetry endures.
About the author
Michael Ondaatje is the author of seven novels; a memoir, Running in the Family; a non-fiction book on film, The Conversations: Walter Murch and the Art of Editing Film; and several books of poetry, including The Cinnamon Peeler and Handwriting. The English Patient received the Booker Prize in 1992 and the Golden Man Booker in 2018, and was made into a film directed by Anthony Minghella. Anil’s Ghost was awarded the Irish Times International Fiction Prize, the Giller Prize and the Prix Médicis. Born in Sri Lanka, Michael Ondaatje lives in Toronto.
Reading information
Smartphones and tablets
Install the Google Play Books app for Android and iPad/iPhone. It syncs automatically with your account and allows you to read online or offline wherever you are.
Laptops and computers
You can listen to audiobooks purchased on Google Play using your computer's web browser.
eReaders and other devices
To read on e-ink devices like Kobo eReaders, you'll need to download a file and transfer it to your device. Follow the detailed Help Center instructions to transfer the files to supported eReaders.
