The perception of violence in the Collected Works of Billy the Kid by Michael Ondaatje A question that arises in almost every artistic medium, be it music, film or literature , is whether or not the depiction of violence is merely gratuitous or whether it is a legitimate artistic expression. There is no doubt that Michael Ondaatje's long poem The Collected Works of Billy the Kid is a violent work, but certain factors should be kept in mind before passing it off as an attempt to shock and titillate; certainly, the poem does both, but they are not the main purpose of the work. First, you need to consider the social context; Billy lived in the "Wild West", a time associated with remote warfare, shootouts, and major train robberies. The entire legend of Billy the Kid was built around his criminal activities and infamous reputation; indeed, the more popular this myth becomes, the more people it is accused of killing. If anything, it was a cultural fascination with violence that "created" the legend, perhaps even more than anything the "real" Billy ever did. Michael Ondaatje comments on this phenomenon and actually offers an alternative view of who Billy the Kid was; perhaps he was not just a bloodthirsty killer, but a man who, due to circumstances and human nature, was continually pushed over the edge. Ondaatje is more interested in the motivations behind the acts of violence than the acts of violence themselves: "A reason? Some reasoning we can give to explain all this violence. Was there a source for all this? Yes -" (54). If they shock, it is to shock readers into complicity and encourage them to think about the nature of violence and their own capacity to commit it. Even if it is more... half of the paper... nstitutes a "suitable" subject for poetry. If love is deemed adequate, should the expression of violence be less so? Both are part of the human experience; in fact, it is difficult to imagine one existing without the other. As Billy says, “I'm here with the range for everything” (72), a range that includes “the hands that need the rub of metal/those senses that/that want to smash things with an axe” (72). Michael Ondaatje gives us this range and then leaves it up to us to define our own "edge"; what are we capable of?.... What is our potential? Works cited and consulted Mundwiler, Leslie. Michael Ondaatje: Word, image, imagination. Vancouver: Talonbooks, 1984. Ondaatje, Michael. The collected works of Billy the Kid. Toronto: Anansi, 1970. Solecki, Sam. "Introduction." Spider Blues: Essays on Michael Ondaatje. Ed. Sam Solecki. Montreal: Vehicle, 1985. 7-11.