Russell House Speaker Series Presents Michael Ondaateje

Who: Acclaimed novelist Michael Ondaatje, this year’s Joan Jakobson Visiting Writer. And also you.

What: A talk and a reading, followed by a question-and-answer session and book signing.

Where: The Memorial Chapel

When: Wednesday, Nov. 5 at 8 p.m.

Why: Ondaatje is a big deal. His book, “The English Patient,” (which you’ve probably heard of) won the Booker Prize, which is awarded every year to the best novel written in the British Commonwealth (other winners include Salman Rushdie, V.S. Naipaul and a bunch of other cool people). So Ondaatje is a certified literary badass. This could be karmic payback for Tony Kushner’s cancellation. If you care about books, you oughta check this out.