Conjunctions 49: A Writer's Aviary (No. 49)

From the mythic phoenix rising from the ashes to the bird of paradise, which, according both to legend and Linnaeus, remained in flight its whole life, birds have set imaginations soaring. The sacred quetzal, the authoritative bald eagle, the wise owl, the gothic raven--there isn't a species that has failed to inspire us symbol-crazy, earthbound human observers. Edited by Bradford Morrow, 2007 winner of the PEN/Nora Magid Award honoring a magazine editor with the highest literary standards and taste throughout their career, the newest installment of Conjunctions collects a vast spectrum of works about birds by ornithologists and everyday birders, together with poets and fiction writers from several continents. Among the many contributors are British poet Tim Dee, Canadian writer Sylvia Legris and Americans D. E. Steward, William H. Gass and Peter Orner. The issue also celebrates the distinguished half-century career of John Ashbery in a portfolio of essays addressing his oeuvre, book by book. Among the contributions co-edited by Morrow and Peter Gizzi: Reginald Shepherd on Some Trees, Susan Howe and Peter Straub on The Tennis Court Oath, Charles Bernstein on Rivers and Mountains, Ron Silliman on Three Poems, Susan Stewart on Self-Portrait in a Convex Mirror, Ann Lauterbach on As We Know, Cole Swensen on Hotel Lautreamont, Harry Mathews on Your Name Here and Robert Kelly on Chinese Whispers.