Poetry for the birds

Last update: November 10, 2009 - 11:58 AM

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My appreciation of poetry pretty much stalled in grade school. I never got beyond rhyming verse. So when I was given a copy of "Bright Wings: An Illustrated Anthology of Poems About Birds" (Columbia University Press, $22.95), I hesitated.

Even before I opened it, there were a few things in its favor: its editor, U.S. poet Billy Collins, who doesn't rhyme often but possesses a charming wit, and its illustrations, by the famed David Sibley, of the bestselling bird identification books.

In his introduction, Collins explains how poetry can offer a fresh look at the world, and the world of birds. As an example, he uses a poem about swans by Ruth Schwartz. It doesn't rhyme, but it does offer keen insight and offbeat humor. Much to my delight, the opening poem in the collection, by Stephen Vincent Benet, not only rhymes but is fun to read aloud. It's followed by an intelligent assembly of poems that take us places where prose cannot go.

Sibley accompanies his black-and-white wash paintings with concise -- and sometimes eclectic -- comments on the species in this captivating poetic flock. All in all, this little book is a reminder that everything important about birds can't be found in guide books or scientific papers.

JIM WILLIAMS

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