Of Birds and Being: Five Poets from The Word Works

Five poets whose collections have been published by the Washington, D.C.-based Word Works will read poems that explore the physical and metaphysical presence of birds. Their poems observe and describe different species, with their various behaviors, and consider birds as harbingers, emissaries, and omens, as figures of hope, grief, and eros. Poets include Jennifer Barber, Carrie Bennett, Nadia Colburn, Kevin McLellan, and Meg Kearney. Their diverse aesthetic outlooks, ranging from experimental methods to traditional lyric forms and blended narrative-lyrics, encompass the many ways in which the presence of birds informs our existence.