The Sealy Challenge
#๐ง๐ต๐ฒ๐ฆ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐น๐๐๐ต๐ฎ๐น๐น๐ฒ๐ป๐ด๐ฒ ๐๐ฎ๐ ๐ฎ:
๐๐ก๐ ๐๐จ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐๐๐ญ๐๐ ๐ฐ๐จ๐ซ๐ค๐ฌ ๐จ๐ ๐๐ข๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐ข๐ by ๐๐ข๐๐ก๐๐๐ฅ ๐๐ง๐๐๐๐ญ๐ฃ๐ โ๏ธ
This is a highly visceral, bloody and visual collection of persona poems by Michael Ondaatje. He takes on the personality of the infamous outlaw Billy the Kid (and people in his life) to give us a collection that touches on the incredibly violent, short and fast life of the man (he was 21 when he died). The book starts off with a poem mentioning all the people Billy killed, and all the ones ๐กโ๐๐ฆ killed, not specifying who ๐กโ๐๐ฆ are at first. What follows is a recollection of how all those people met their end including Billy himself. Itโs a game of cat and mouse through poetry, tall tales, personal accounts and more.
One poem had me go โoh my goodnessโ and read it to my partner because of just how visceral it was. The pieces switch from a couple of lines a page to four-page short stories on a whim. They are mostly violent in some way. I must admit I had to read some pieces twice to really visualize the words. Halfway through I began picking out some of Ondaatjeโs techniques such as repetition, alliteration and use of long sentences to give the illusion of a chase. He also uses animals extensively, both literally and figuratively, as a way to express the overarching theme of the hunter and the hunted.
This wasnโt an easy read but quite intriguing. Fans of blood and gore and strikingly visual violence will get a kick out of this. Curious to see what other types of work Michael Ondaatje has.
๐ ๐ ๐ณ๐ฎ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐ฒ ๐น๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ/๐ฝ๐ผ๐ฒ๐บ/๐ฝ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐::
โAfter shooting Gregory
this is what happened
Iโd shot him well and careful
made it explode under his heart
so it wouldnโt last long and
was about to walk away
when this chicken paddles out to him
and as he was falling hops on his
neck
digs the beak into his throat
straightens legs and heaves
a red and blue vein out
Meanwhile he fell
and the chicken walked away
still tugging at the vein
till it was 12 yards long
as if it held that body like a kite
Gregoryโs last words being
get away from me yer stupid chickenโ
Follow me on Instagram @samaapoetry for more and check out what The Sealy Challenge is here. My day 1 selection is right here.
Tomorrowโs book will be Before The Usual Time: A Collection of Indigenous Stories and Poems, gathered by Darlene Naponse