Bright Wings: An Illustrated Anthology of Poems about Birds

AcknowledgmentsIntroductionJohn James AudubonLoons MatingDrifting OffMother Carey's HenThe BirdsPelicanThe Magnificent FrigatebirdThe Frigate PelicanThe Blue BoobyThe HeronHope and LoveOn the Sight of Swans in Kensington GardensOn the Marriage of FriendsSwan and ShadowWild GeeseThe TealFrom Woody's Restaurant, MiddleburyStill, Citizen SparrowTo a Farmer Who Hung Five Hawks on His Barbed WireEvening HawkYou and I Saw Hawks Exchanging the Preyfrom The Parliament of FowlsPeregrine Falcon, New York CityMake-FalconThe Dalliance of EaglesPheasantA Bird at the Leather MillThe CootPloverShorebird-WatchingOn a 3 oz. Lesser Yellow Legs, Departed Boston August 28, Shot Martinique September 3SandpiperThe Ballet of the Fifth YearSeagullsThe KittiwakeAfter Reading Peterson's GuideLost ParrotThe Contrast; The Parrot and the WrenThe Great Horned OwlA Barred OwlTo a Captive OwlAn OwlGreat Grey OwlThe OwlThe OwlChimney SwiftsSwiftsSwiftsHumming-BirdThe KingfisherThe KingfisherThe Woodpecker Keeps ReturningThe WoodpeckerArts of JoyBlack PhoebeThe ShrikeStill Missing the JaysMagpie's SongPaired ThingsThe Calves Not ChosenThe Crows Start Demanding RoyaltiesThe Questions Poems AskRavens at Deer CreekThe Ravens of DenaliOde to the SwallowThe SwallowThe Emperor's Bird's-NestWatching the Swallowsfrom The Princess; O SwallowHome-Thoughts, from AbroadCliff SwallowsThe Blue SwallowsDecember NotesIn Walden wood the chickadeeTitmouseThe BluebirdsThe Darkling ThrushThrushesI have a Bird in springLove's Good-MorrowTo Robin Red-BreastPoor Cock RobinThe Death of Lesbia's BirdOf the AirCedar WaxwingsCedar Waxwing on Scarlet FirethornSongA Warbler Annoucing Spring at MorningThe Happy BirdBird WatchingThe CardinalCardinals in a Shower at Union SquareA Pair of TanagersBrave SparrowLove SongChristmas SparrowSparrow Trapped in the AirportPartita for SparrowsVisitiationOld AcquaintanceThe Call of the Junco BirdRedwing BlackbirdsRed-Winged BlackbirdsThe BirdsThirteen Ways of Looking at a BlackbirdKeeping

Billy Collins is Distinguished Professor of English at Lehman College and the author of eight books of poetry, including Ballistics, The Trouble with Poetry: and Other Poems, Nine Horses, Sailing Alone Around the World, and Questions About Angels, which was selected by Edward Hirsch for the National Poetry Series. He has received fellowships from the New York Foundation for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Guggenheim Foundation, and has served two terms as the poet laureate of the United States, along with one term as New York State Poet. Collins divides his time between New York and Winter Park, Florida. David Allen Sibley has spent most of his life traveling across North America, studying and drawing the natural world. With the National Audubon Society, he published The Sibley Guide to Birds in 2004 and The Sibley Guide to Trees in 2009. He lives with his family in Concord, Massachusetts, and his work can be viewed at www.sibleyguides.com.

An intelligent assembly of poems that take us places where prose cannot go... This little book is a reminder that everything important about birds can't be found in guide books or scientific papers. -- Jim Williams Minneapolis Star Tribune 8/20/09 What's not to love?Birder's World Birder's World 12/1/09 Part poetry anthology, part field guide, Bright Wings is a delight. -- Isabel Nathaniel Dallas Morning News 11/29/2009 An elegant little compilation. Des Moines Register 12/26/09 A beautiful anthology. -- Jim Higgins Milwaukee Journal Sentinel 12/20/09 [Collins & Sibley] have created a veritable jeweled music box... sure to appeal to birdlovers and poetry fans alike.The West Australian The West Australian 12/22/09 Whether metaphorical or purely observational, the verses provide a wealth of details and, as a group, form a literary guide to the behavior of bird and birder. -- Adam Levine Country Gardens 7/1/10 Rarely has poetry and art been so deftly partnered... A truly impressive anthology. The Midwest Book Review 3/1/10 Collins has done his homework, ponying up those who should never be forgotten nor hidden away in an English Lit syllabus. The Folio 2010