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SHARED SIGHTINGS
As Sheila Golburgh Johnson points out in the introduction to her anthology Shared Sightings, "Birds have been part of our collective consciousness since our time on earth began. Language itself, the gift that makes us most human, is mythically connected to birds." Poets especially have been inspired by birds--by their habits, their plumage, and their songs--throughout the ages, from Aristophanes to Shakespeare, from John Keats to Johnny Mercer. Shared Sightings gathers together poems by thirty-five modern poets, all of whom have been touched in one way or another by birds. The collection presents some of the most widely published poets writing today, including Pulitzer Prize winners and writers of best-sellers, along with lesser-known poets whose work Johnson admires. Grouped into three sections, the poems reveal the experience of birdwatching in the morning, in the daylight hours, and into the evening and night. A wide variety of birds are represented in this collection, from the great birds of prey down to the tiny hummingbird, from herons and owls to sparrows and chickens, and even including the extinct pterodactyl. Just as widely varied are the responses of the poets to their subjects. In styles ranging from strict and formal sonnets, haiku, and ballads to free-wheeling experimental verse, the emotional responses range from hilarity to to sorrow. Connecting all the poetry in this collection, though, is a profound respect for avian life. Another recurring theme is the importance of birds to the spiritual life of mankind. A third theme, amidst this celebration, is a warning: with the number of birds in the world rapidly shrinking, the poets in Shared Sightings remind us we must treasure birds and defend them against wanton destruction at the hands of our own species. About the Editor: Sheila Golburgh Johnson has been invited to contribute an article to Writer's Digest on the challenge and technique of compiling a poetry anthology. The article, which will draw heavily on Johnson's experience with Shared Sightings, will appear in late 1995. Ms. Johnson has published articles, stories, and poems in a wide variety of jounals, including Westways, Birdwatcher's Digest, Kansas Quarterly, and South Dakota Review. Her unpublished novel, After I Said No, won the Sydney Taylor Manuscript Competition for 1995 from the Association of Jewish Libraries. An avid birdwatcher, Sheila Golburgh Johnson has traveled all over the world to keep company with birds. She has been a volunteer lecturer in schools for the Audubon Society and a docent at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History. She lives in Santa Barbara, California. |
With over four hundred million birdwatchers
worldwide, birdwatching is among the most popular sports we human
beings enjoy. And sport it is, with birders hiking into the wild
(or into the backyard) with binoculars and fieldguides. Some
carry cameras and telephoto lenses; others carry sketchbooks
and easels. Still other birders carry notebooks--to keep track
of their life lists, of course, but also to put down on paper
their impressions of the magic that happens when human beings
see and hear those noble, comical, gentle, fierce, beautiful
beings that have inspired human art and culture forever. |
Shared Sightings 144 pages, 6" x 9" paperback, $12.00 For ordering information, click here or phone (800) 662-8351 |