Reading order
| # | Title | Published | Author | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Dainty Monsters | 1967 | Michael Ondaatje | Buy |
| 2 | The Collected Works of Billy the Kid | 1970 | Michael Ondaatje | Buy |
| 3 | The Broken Ark | 1971 | Michael Ondaatje | Buy |
| 4 | There’s a Trick with a Knife I’m Learning to Do | 1979 | Michael Ondaatje | Buy |
| 5 | Rat Jelly | 1980 | Michael Ondaatje | Buy |
| 6 | Tin Roof | 1982 | Michael Ondaatje | Buy |
| 7 | Secular Love | 1985 | Michael Ondaatje | Buy |
| 8 | The Cinnamon Peeler | 1989 | Michael Ondaatje | Buy |
| 9 | Previous Canoes | 1994 | Michael Ondaatje | Buy |
| 10 | Handwriting | 1998 | Michael Ondaatje | Buy |
| 11 | Vintage Ondaatje | 2004 | Michael Ondaatje | Buy |
| 12 | The Story | 2005 | Michael Ondaatje | Buy |
| 13 | A Year of Last Things | 2024 | Michael Ondaatje | Buy |
Michael Ondaatje’s collections cover more than five decades, starting with The Dainty Monsters in 1967 and running through A Year of Last Things in 2024. The early volumes arrived at a steady pace: The Collected Works of Billy the Kid (1970), The Broken Ark (1971), There’s a Trick with a Knife I’m Learning to Do (1979), and Rat Jelly (1980) all appeared within Ondaatje’s first fifteen years of publishing.
The 1980s and 1990s brought further collections, including Tin Roof (1982), Secular Love (1985), The Cinnamon Peeler (1989), Previous Canoes (1994), and Handwriting (1998). Two more followed in the 2000s with Vintage Ondaatje (2004) and The Story (2005). After a long gap, A Year of Last Things arrived in 2024. Across thirteen volumes, these collections trace the full arc of Ondaatje’s career as a poet and short-form writer.