The poets guide to the birds

"Bird watchers are taught to notice: how to distinguish one bird from another; male from female; how birds act and sound; where to look; what to look for. Poets do not come armed with such precise detail, and it could be said that they look at birds differently, that they "see" differently. Yet astute bird watchers will recognize their feathered friends in the pages of this collection, will see and hear familiar birds - but possibly they will see and hear them in new ways. Here, birds sound like your grandparents' porch swing, or banjos, or typewriters, or Caruso. They argue and yelp and ricochet. And their activities - well, they are described in so many inventive ways that readers will find themselves looking skyward to see if reality mirrors the poems." "The poets here often admit to how little they know, and then they realize how much they have learned by observing. Some stare unflinchingly at the birds, record simple behavior, take note of context and color and mood. For others, the birds are peripheral, touching down tangentially, then flying off, leaving insight in their wake. Some of these poets focus on specifics: this bird, this place, this time. They watch for habit and habitat, as well as deviation from the norm. Others veer toward the general: how birds figure in our lives, how they spark questions, call up earlier times or places, offer up meanings.