The Last Wailer: Reaction

I had the opportunity to read a compelling article that Dave sent me. It was written in January of 2011. For reference, here's the link:

http://www.gq.com/entertainment/music/201101/bunny-wailer-john-jeremiah-sullivan?printable=true

The first thing that attracted me when I opened the link was the vibrant picture of an African-American man with some pretty awesome dreads whipping in the wind. My first thought: Bob Marley...? I quickly came to find that this man was not Mr. Marley, but someone that lived with him that goes by the name of Bunny Wailer. Wailer, Marley and Peter Tosh were the makings of "a new template for sound" called The Wailers. The article is written by John Jeremiah Sullivan, who traveled to Kingston, Jamaica and talk with Bunny, the last of the Wailers.

I'll start with my interpretation on the writer: Right from the beginning, this article caught my attention. The way that Sullivan writes is capturing of not only his words, but the intricate details he plays out in his head. He includes links to music and gives his reaction and appreciation to the band before the reader even understands much about where this is going. One of my favorite parts from the article was how he took us through his entire journey to find and contact Bunny. He even includes the email response (his interpretation and the actual reading): 

"It said, You may come. Actually, the language of the e-mail was 'Greetings. You may continue with your travel arrangements. One Love, Jah B.'"

Added lines like this make me excited to read this type of story becasue it shows me that the writer is just as passionate about writing of his journey it as I should be to read it - an important characteristic to capture in non-fiction.

On to the description of the story: I really enjoyed the mixture of Sullivan's journey to meet Bunny and the contrast of what was happening in Kingston, Jamaica. He does a good job of incorporating some history and Bunny's response to it as a public figure. For example,  Sullivan describes the "Dudus war" that was occuring . Dudus is one of Jamaica's biggest drug bosses and the U.S. Department of Justice was requesting he be handed over. As the trial of Dudus is played out, Sullivan touches on Bunny's record release around that time:

"One of the weirdest things that happened during the buildup to the Dudus war was that Bunny Wailer put out a pro-Dudus dancehall record titled "Don't Touch the President." (President, or Pressy, is one of Dudus's many nicknames.) [...] Why would an elder statesman of Jamaican culture take the side of these crowds they were showing on TV, in the streets of Kingston, screaming and putting themselves in the way of justice"

I also really enjoyed the dialogue Sullivan selected to describe Bunny. One of my favorite lines was from their first meeting. After Sullivan says how much of an honor it is to meet Bunny, he replies, "Well, it's an honor to be here, on the earth," he said. "You know what I mean? So we at one. What's up with you, now?" 

It's selective language like this that gives Bunny (who to me is just a picture in the corner of this article that looks like Bob Marley) a personality. It makes him real. Carrying out these lines of dialogue with the contrast of Sullivan's inner thoughts, made this non-fiction profile an great piece to read, and helped me understand a better way to flesh out my profile piece.