Editing Michael Ondaatje (section)

==Public stand==

In April 2015, Ondaatje was one of several members of [[PEN American Center]] who withdrew as literary host when the organization gave its annual Freedom of Expression Courage award to ''[[Charlie Hebdo]]''. The award came in the wake of the [[Charlie Hebdo shooting|shooting attack]] on the magazine's Paris offices in January 2015.<ref>Schuessler, Jennifer (26 April 2015), [http://mobile.nytimes.com/2015/04/27/nyregion/six-pen-members-decline-gala-after-award-for-charlie-hebdo.html "Six PEN Members Decline Gala After Award for Charlie Hebdo"], ''The New York Times''. Retrieved 7 May 2015.</ref> Ondaatje, along with 60 other writers, signed a letter to PEN expressing concern that the award valorized "selectively offensive material: material that intensifies the anti-Islamic, anti-Maghreb, anti-Arab sentiments already prevalent in the Western world."<ref>{{Cite web |last=kanopi_admin |date=2015-05-05 |title=PEN Receives Letter from Members About Charlie Hebdo Award |url=https://pen.org/pen-receives-letter-from-members-about-charlie-hebdo-award/ |access-date=2024-10-21 |website=PEN America |language=en-US}}</ref>