Zong! (Wesleyan Poetry Series)

Written by the Barbadian-Canadian, lawyer-poet M. NourbeSe Philip, Zong! is poetry on the edge in that it is telling the November 28, 1781 story for which "...there is no telling...;it must be told..." in a bracing, lament-like cry, a cry of horrified remembrance for the approximately 150 slaves who were tossed to their deaths from the slave ship the Zong for the sake -- as we will learn -- of their potential insurance payout value. Zong! is also on the edge in that it is experimental poetry that is entirely based upon the deconstruction and reconstruction of language that has been teased out and played with in every conceivable permutation of language from the only historic text that records the atrocity, the summary of the insurance claim court case that was brought before Lord Mansfield, the Lord Chief Justice of England, at the Court of King's Bench.While predominantly English, the original court text is used to draw out words from 12 European and African languages that are blended into a scattershot, often interrupted and jerky poetic form of construction, reconstruction and word play, double meanings and sounds that cover the horror of the experience. And appropriately, this is a text that can best be described as an 'experienced' one, delivered through sound, connection-making, construction and reconstruction and from the full knowledge of the background situation (the full text of the 1783 court document is recorded at the back of the book) which looms ever-present and aids to bind the whole together.As horrific as its contents are, the book and its poetry are incredibly and cleverly conceived and do what the author had intended they would. She struggled, almost ached, over how to convey the story and has done so within the limits placed upon herself; the restricting of all source material for the poem to the confines of the legal text itself, but that has resulted in a poetic form that conveys the experience with immense effect.Since its publication, Zong! has inspired annual 28th November commemorative reading sessions, many of which can be joined electronically or watched on Youtube. I strongly recommend the book and the sobering human experience of reading it.

Zong! is an extraordinary piece of literature I wish never had to be made. the atrocities that humanity has done is just devastating and exhausting. this book is visually and musically compelling. it changed my life and my view on art, history, and literature.

If you enjoy erasure poetry, you will love this - This erasure of real documents of the slaves who were transported to America is devastating.

This book will haunt you. Daunting at first in its experimental layout, Ms. Philip's masterpiece cries out to be heard. I urge anyone who picks up this book to look up her readings of the poems, especially on video and especially the one of "Zong #1" which has the air of a stifled scream. They are extremely emotive and really bring the texts to life.

Need to put in effort to get everything out of it that it has to offer! Very beautiful and powerful! Tells a story that history has tried to forget.

Intense - -Creative and exploratory - ZONG is a book which highlights new styles of poetry that manage to revive the voices of those victims lost in the ZONG tragedy.

What a beautiful unreadable read

Wow.. just so many words I'd love to say about this collection of poems yet.. they're probably already scattered all along the pages. Scattered, broken words, and though they play a pivotal role in the point of this collection of poems, I can't help but flip through the pages in utter confusion. Notanda is the only piece of written language that makes an ounce of sense in this book, which is the last twenty or so pages. I wish good luck to any student who gets assigned this collection of poems for an assignment, as Google has relatively zero information on it.

AAA

Excellent