On Extended Wings: American Birds and American Writing

June 17, 2021—Like their counterparts in English Romantic poetry and elsewhere, American poets and writers have been fascinated by birds, compelled by their beauty, their strangeness, their mysterious, fleeting presence. From the colonial period to the present they have sought to evoke the ways birds enchant us, connect us with nature’s wonder, fragility, and sometimes savagery, and offer moments of transcendence. In this LOA Live discussion, Olivia Gentile (Life List), poet Sidney Wade, wildlife biologist and author J. Drew Lanham, and Andrew Rubenfeld, co-editor of the Library of America anthology American Birds: A Literary Companion, explore the mystery and magic of birds and the imaginative flights they’ve inspired. Presented in partnership with Alachua County Audubon, the Aldo Leopold Foundation, ALSCW, the American Ornithological Society, BirdWatching Magazine, Orion Magazine, Subtropics Magazine, and the University of Florida.