Philip Michael Ondaatje is a Canadian novelist and poet born in Sri
Lanka, whose novel, “The English Patient,” was made into an Academy Award winning
movie, may not be well known to readers of westerns. May not be known at all to
most of us who spend our time in the old west, but he does have one fun and
readable and very different western work.
In 1970 he published his collection of
prose and poetry,”The Collected Works of Billy the Kid: Left-handed Poems.” After
reading a study diet of westerns and modern mysteries this is a refreshing
read.
Short enough, at just over 100 pages, to be
read in a few short hours, this book is well worth it. At first look it might
seem a bit disjointed, and it does jump around some, from poetry, to prose then
photos, but what fun. Ondaatje has a wonderful command of the language, and for
this ol’ western boy, it is downright pretty.
The book follows the adventures or misadventures of Billy the
Kid and the rather shady characters he hangs out with, friends, lawmen, women, cohorts
in crime and others. His has the ability to paint some unbelievable pictures
with his words, making me reread several pages.
This one is fun-the guy can really write.
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