Commonwealth of Wings

Combining the best of poetry, nature writing, a biography, Pamela Alexander in her book-length "persona poem" brings to life John James Audubon and a world not yet aware of nature's limits. She distills the essence of this remarkable naturalistic-artist and gives him voice to tell his life story in fragments and letters, journal entries, actual vignettes, and lyrical passages. Captivating, and accessible, her poem reads with the authority of autobiography, the dramatic coherence of a novel, and the evocative clarity of an Audubon print. The reader, briefly transported to the natural world of America a century and a half ago, cannot help but contrast its condition today and feel a poignant sense of loss.