Horrors of War: Michael McClure and the Whales
Michael McClure evokes the brutal slaughter of killer whales by referencing Francisco Goya’s “The Disasters of War.”
Below is one of the 82 sketches in Goya’s series Disasters of War, a collection of graphic depictions of events occurring in wartime. The series is done in etchings, a technique where acid is used to etch an image into a metal surface, then followed by ink that soaks into the grooves and transfers to paper. It’s similar to a stamp, and is a raw process that exposes the raw gore occurring in war.
In “The Death of 100 Whales,” the Beat poet Michael McClure reads a Time magazine article that discussed the actions of soldiers, stationed at a NATO airbase, who decided to retaliate against the killer whales who were destroying fishing gear and boats. The soldiers performed horrific acts that led to the death of 100 killer whales. McClure found himself absolutely disgusted with this and was motivated to write “For The Death of 100 Whales.”
“Like sheep or children” (McClure 286)
McClure refers to the whales as sheep or children implying their innocence. These creatures are simply existing and are being brutally slaughtered by mankind.
“(Goya!!)
Flung blood and sperm.
Incense.
Gnashed at their tails and brothers” (McClure 286)
This one reference to Goya simply and quickly reveals the image of blood and gore. The quote above could easily be used to describe any of Goya’s works, as soon as I read the reference to Goya, I understood the morbid reality of the poem. The last line, “gnashed at their tails and brothers” is meant to reference the fact that the soldiers would wound one whale, leaving the others to attack (McClure 286). Pods of whales attacking and killing each other brought on by these men. Yet this reference also follows Goya’s Disasters of War series as well. Men gnashing at their brothers is the main subject of the etchings.
McClure’s choice to reference Goya in this poem paints the exact image he was aiming for. His opinion on the subject is loudly vocalized with this reference.
McClure, Michael. “For The Death of 100 Whales.” The Portable Beat Reader, Edited by Ann Charters, Penguin Books, 1992, pp. 285–287.
