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if you are interested in experimental poetry or billy the kid, this book is for you, but since i know nothing about either i found this super jumbled and confusing
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The Collected Works of Billy the Kid
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Drawing on contemporary accounts, period photographs, dime novels, and his own prodigious fund of empathy and imagination, Michael Ondaatje’s visionary novel traces the legendary outlaw’s passage across the blasted landscape of 1880 New Mexico and the collective unconscious of his country. The Collected Works of Billy the Kid is a virtuoso synthesis of storytelling, history, and myth by a writer who brings us back to our familiar legends with a renewed sense of wonder.
105 pages, Paperback
First published January 1,1970
This edition
- Format
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105 pages, Paperback
- Published
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January 1, 1970 by Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
- ISBN
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9780747572602
- ASIN
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0747572607
- Language
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English
About the author
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Philip Michael Ondaatje is a Sri Lankan-born Canadian poet, fiction writer, and essayist, renowned for his contributions to both poetry and prose. He was born in Colombo in 1943, to a family of Tamil and Burgher descent. Ondaatje emigrated to Canada in 1962, where he pursued his education, obtaining a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Toronto and a Master of Arts from Queen's University.
Ondaatje's literary career began in 1967 with his poetry collection The Dainty Monsters, followed by his celebrated The Collected Works of Billy the Kid in 1970. His poetry earned him numerous accolades, including the Governor General's Award for his collection There's a Trick with a Knife I'm Learning to Do: Poems 1973–1978 in 1979. He published 13 books of poetry, exploring diverse themes and poetic forms.
In 1992, Ondaatje gained international fame with the publication of his novel The English Patient, which won the Booker Prize and was later adapted into an Academy Award-winning film. His other notable works include In the Skin of a Lion (1987), Anil's Ghost (2000), and Divisadero (2007), which won the Governor General's Award. Ondaatje's novel Warlight (2018) was longlisted for the Booker Prize.
Aside from his writing, Ondaatje has been influential in fostering Canadian literature. He served as an editor at Coach House Books, contributing to the promotion of new Canadian voices. He also co-edited Brick, A Literary Journal, and worked as a founding trustee of the Griffin Trust for Excellence in Poetry.
Ondaatje's work spans various forms, including plays, documentaries, and essays. His 2002 book The Conversations: Walter Murch and the Art of Editing Film earned him critical acclaim and won several awards. His plays have been adapted from his novels, including The Collected Works of Billy the Kid and Coming Through Slaughter.
Over his career, Ondaatje has been honored with several prestigious awards. He was named an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1988, upgraded to Companion in 2016, and received the Sri Lanka Ratna in 2005. In 2016, a new species of spider, Brignolia ondaatjei, was named in his honor.
Ondaatje's personal life is also intertwined with his literary pursuits. He has been married to novelist Linda Spalding, and the couple co-edits Brick. He has two children from his first marriage and is the brother of philanthropist Sir Christopher Ondaatje. He was also involved in a public stand against the PEN American Center's decision to honor Charlie Hebdo in 2015, citing concerns about the publication's anti-Islamic content.
Ondaatje's enduring influence on literature and his ability to blend personal history with universal themes in his writing continue to shape Canadian and world literature.
Ondaatje's literary career began in 1967 with his poetry collection The Dainty Monsters, followed by his celebrated The Collected Works of Billy the Kid in 1970. His poetry earned him numerous accolades, including the Governor General's Award for his collection There's a Trick with a Knife I'm Learning to Do: Poems 1973–1978 in 1979. He published 13 books of poetry, exploring diverse themes and poetic forms.
In 1992, Ondaatje gained international fame with the publication of his novel The English Patient, which won the Booker Prize and was later adapted into an Academy Award-winning film. His other notable works include In the Skin of a Lion (1987), Anil's Ghost (2000), and Divisadero (2007), which won the Governor General's Award. Ondaatje's novel Warlight (2018) was longlisted for the Booker Prize.
Aside from his writing, Ondaatje has been influential in fostering Canadian literature. He served as an editor at Coach House Books, contributing to the promotion of new Canadian voices. He also co-edited Brick, A Literary Journal, and worked as a founding trustee of the Griffin Trust for Excellence in Poetry.
Ondaatje's work spans various forms, including plays, documentaries, and essays. His 2002 book The Conversations: Walter Murch and the Art of Editing Film earned him critical acclaim and won several awards. His plays have been adapted from his novels, including The Collected Works of Billy the Kid and Coming Through Slaughter.
Over his career, Ondaatje has been honored with several prestigious awards. He was named an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1988, upgraded to Companion in 2016, and received the Sri Lanka Ratna in 2005. In 2016, a new species of spider, Brignolia ondaatjei, was named in his honor.
Ondaatje's personal life is also intertwined with his literary pursuits. He has been married to novelist Linda Spalding, and the couple co-edits Brick. He has two children from his first marriage and is the brother of philanthropist Sir Christopher Ondaatje. He was also involved in a public stand against the PEN American Center's decision to honor Charlie Hebdo in 2015, citing concerns about the publication's anti-Islamic content.
Ondaatje's enduring influence on literature and his ability to blend personal history with universal themes in his writing continue to shape Canadian and world literature.
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Community Reviews
Rating(3.9 / 5.0, 99 votes)
5 stars
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3 stars
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99 reviews All reviews
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It was really well written but it got to the point that it was too fragmented for me to make sense out of anything. I thought the prose parts were pretty good but the poems really seemed a bit too far beyond me. I also enjoyed the use of different forms of media in the story but I really just saw it as an attempt that just didn't seem to work the way the author wanted it. Or else it just went way over my head, which is entirely possible.
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I don't really know how to rate this as it was one of the oddest books I've ever read. A lot to unpack in terms of language, form, images, but not the most compelling story.
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I was wrong at first to say this wasn't heat. After a second reading, this is confirmed heat. But you must not listen to the professor who says to read the afterword first! The afterword is the afterword for a reason, and, when read as a forward, ruins the setup of the book!
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I think I've read this book a hundred times. A poetry teacher in high-school introduced me to it. I'd never read anything so gritty and sensual and amusing. When I was a child I used to play Frank and Jessie James with my best-friend; Billy the Kid was one of our imaginary pals. So reading him come to life on the page in Ondaatje's slim volume blew open my idea of what one was allowed to write about. I attended Glendon College because it said on the back of the book that was where Ondaatje taught. A terrible lecturer, my favourite writer. I'll never forget him complaining about the sound of candies being unwrapped during class.
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3,5
Dekompozice a post-moderna level 10 tisic na druhou. Asi je to víc poezie nez próza, ale kdo ví.
Některé básně za plných 5 jiné za chabé dvě hvězdy. S delším textovými fragmenty to bylo obdobné.
Jako jednohubka fajn, ale za půl roku už si z toho nebudu nejspíš pamatovat nic.
Dekompozice a post-moderna level 10 tisic na druhou. Asi je to víc poezie nez próza, ale kdo ví.
Některé básně za plných 5 jiné za chabé dvě hvězdy. S delším textovými fragmenty to bylo obdobné.
Jako jednohubka fajn, ale za půl roku už si z toho nebudu nejspíš pamatovat nic.
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what am i missing here? big fan of ondaatje's 'in the skin of a lion' and the ubiquitous 'the english patient,' but this piece of... 'huh-wha?!?,' no, not so much. it's more william shatner's 'transforrmed man' than william bonney, outlaw extraordinaire. poorly done, staccato, wild west slam poetry, dressed up as avant garde theatrical musings. people are actually staging this dreck, at a mediocre high school puppet theater near you! this is a prime example of why we used to have insane asylums. some ideas just don't need to be committed to paper or expressed in public. unless you're one of the few who's gullible or 'red pill' enough to find the hidden deeper meaning easter eggs, give this one a pass.
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This is one of the stranger works of fiction I've read, and I didn't entirely get it or figure out the free-flowing prose and poetry of what was going on. But I did get something of a moody, at times visceral and violent, definitely strange, experience of the Old West through a particular poet/novelist's vision. One of the more interesting visions of Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid, alongside Sam Peckinpah's mournful 1973 masterpiece.
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