One of the more interesting elements in Ondaatje's Billy the Kid the woven elements of language and texture. Apparently the poet is known for his approach to the senses, but it seems overwhelmingly so in this book. I'm in complete agreeance with Shannon's comment about Ondaatje exploring the myth of Billy the Kid, rather than necessarily the real guy. By using heavily textured/image-rich/sometimes overly romantic and overly emotional language, Ondaatje asks the reader to "come closer" and form a more personal relationship with the myth of Billy. It seems as though one language (that of intensely violent/dark text) is layered and sewn within another language (that of fantastical/mythical text). The passages and poems are dense and compact, like his words are meant to be taken seriously, almost like we should be reading BTK as a biography and not as a "Collected Works."

It seems like he's really dealing with a push and pull of formal vs. content. On the obvious side, there is a super strong tension between the poetry and the prose. Added into the mix is the graphic images, for example on page 13 after the Charlie Bowdre poem, or the interview on pages 81-84 (is that real or created? I love the idea of putting something into a book that you wrote but it looks like you didn't. Ondaatje is basically begging the reader to step out of their comfort zone and experience his work beyond the typical "poem-poem-poem-poem" structure. While I was reading I was sufficiently uncomfortable with the graphics and also with the constant change in form. However, after analyzing my reaction, I'm pretty sure this is how Ondaatje wanted the Works to be heard/felt/experienced. Considering the text relies on image and sensory detail, it seems to be a primary concern to him that the reader is communicating and gripping each section (prose, graphic, poem) for what it is, rather than what it is not.

Going along with an idea that Nicolette brought up, I also feel that death is so commonplace and mundane in the community brought forth in Billy the Kid that you're essentially forced to pay attention to other stories going on in the book. Normally death is pretty shocking, but it seems as though Ondaatje would rather focus on multiple lives rather than the numerous deaths and killings.