Wingbeat Atlas: Images and poems celebrating citizens of the sky

Two bird lovers, a poet and a photographer, collaborate in Wingbeat Atlas to bring poems and images together to celebrate our citizens of the sky. Award-winning poet Lucy Griffith shares her attention to detail, songlike lyrics and whimsey in these poems about Blue Grosbeaks, Loggerhead Shrikes, owls, hawks and hummingbirds. Sparrows and tiny wrens get their due as well. Ken Butler's accompanying images show the birds in their habitats―freshly active and expressive. Poem and image combine to give the reader an immersive avian experience.



As the well-known international birder Victor Emanuel shares in his foreword: "Lucy Griffith's poems are a wonderful addition to the collection of poems about birds. Many of them contain lines about the behavior of birds, how they fly, what they eat, how they court a mate. These descriptions connect the reader in new ways with the bird. With all creatures, habitat is important. By often mentioning various plants, the bird's habitat is evoked. Kenneth Butler's excellent images of each bird highlighted in a poem add a fresh layer of enjoyment...Lucy's poems are brief and potent, then close with a moving, beautiful ending."