An Aviary of Small Birds

by Karen McCarthy Woolf

An Aviary of Small Birds is both elegy to a stillborn son and testament to the redemptive qualities of poetry as a transformative art. The book opens at the birth, which paradoxically becomes the moment of death when, after a long labor and an emergency caesarean, the baby’s heart gives out. For the mother, her body flooded with endorphins, euphoria gives way to shock, followed by an intense and visceral grief. However, just as grief itself is not linear, so too the book follows an emotional rather than a strictly chronological arc, lyric rather than narrative. At the same time, Karen McCarthy Woolf’s debut work is a formal experimentation that allows an intellectual and metaphysical line of enquiry to emerge. Ultimately, it is a closely felt connection with the natural world, particularly with water and birds, which allows the author to transcend the experience while honoring the spirit of her son.

Genres: Poetry

74 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2014

Reviews

[Emma Kemp · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is rare that I want to read a book of poetry straight through, but this book warrants reading from cover to cover. It is a narrative journey of grief, approached from different angles which do a powerful job of conveying the reality of human emotion. Take, for example, the poem The Museum of Best Laid Plans (fragment), in which Mccarthy Woolf describes her IKEA Billy bookcase, complete with everyday items, each of which tells us a little about her personality, and then, the final object, a lock of her stillborn child's hair, which catches in the back of the throat. It would be hard to read these poems without connecting to one's own experiences of grieving, the moments when simply going about everyday life can trigger a memory of the lost person and with it, a wave of sadness. The truth is that I don't really identify with Mccarthy Wolf's poetic style; there are lots of prose poems and narrative sequences, whereas personally although I love free verse I like it to be a little more structured. However, the style is very well suited to the subject matter and conveys a sense of fragmentation - of thoughts and feelings and memories experienced at times fleetingly, at times in depth, and rarely if ever fully worked through. I can't help but love it. Several reviews I have read says that Mccarthy Woolf avoids sentimentality. I disagree. I think that she faces up to sentimentality, lays it bare on the page, and makes herself incredibly vulnerable by doing so. The poems ARE sentimental. Mccarthy Woolf's achievement is to render sentiment in a literary, technically accomplished way while being very human. What they are not is in any way trite. I mean this as a sincere compliment as I think that Mccarthy Woolf has achieved something rare and beautiful.

[Yanni Ratajczyk · Rating 4 out of 5]

Prachtige bundel over verlies en (opnieuw) de vleugels uitslaan.

[W.R. Watkins · Rating 3 out of 5]

Disclaimer: I was provided a free copy at the London Book Fair, 2015.

'An Aviary Of Small Birds' is a very touching book, that explores the various themes of life and death, with the majority of the poems using strong metaphorical and imagery based language, that allows the read to sit back, read the poem, and reflect upon its meaning. Being a poetry writer myself, this is the kind of work that I wish I could write, and I am envious of those who can write in this style with such ease, and place a powerful mask inbetween the writer's emotions, and the reader interpreting those feelings.

There were a few problems I had with book. First, whilst I do commend the writing style of the author, there were times when the message and story of a poem was lost, and I found myself wondering why that particular poem was included in the book. Other times, I felt that the poem started so abruptly, as if we (the reader) were catching the trail end of the author's thoughts. And by missing the main context/the thought process in which the author had taken to arrive at the poem's beginning, it felt jarring and sudden. Another problem was that I did not feel there was continuity within the book. For instance, in one poem we are met with the horrifying event of the death of the author's just-born son, to a nature based poem. I felt that the book's concentration was scattered.

The best poems I felt were the ones that the writer was raw and honest on, such as 'The Paperwork' and 'Starlight'.

All problems aside, the quality of the written work is brilliant.

[Daisy Evans]

Tender and never indulgent or sentimental. Tough considering the circumstances. I was totally moved and impressed by this amazing book. Keep it by my bedside.

[Daisy Evans · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tender, truthful, but never indulgent or sentimental. Tough considering the circumstances. I was totally moved and impressed by this amazing book. Keep it by my bedside.

[Bodies in the Library · Rating 5 out of 5]

I put off reading this book for a long time, as I knew it would be tough to read the poems about Otto, the author's stillborn son. I occasionally dipped in and out of it, usually when I was experiencing a pregnancy loss myself, and needed to know that someone else had experienced the same level of grief. But it is only now that I am no longer in any danger of falling pregnant again that I have felt able to read the whole collection.

And what a wonderful collection it is, with contemplations on friendship, nature and, above all, love.

Stupendous.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

beautiful

[lane · Rating 5 out of 5]

‘Who says your death is blameless?
I want to slip this August moon in a sack
and watch her wriggle like a puppy
as she’s swallowed by the lake’

[Kristiana · Rating 5 out of 5]

A content warning for stillbirth/infant loss but a very moving and beautiful collection around loss.

[Fiona · Rating 4 out of 5]

Powerful, and poignant.

[Claire Fuller · Rating 4 out of 5]

I heard Karen speak about her poems and read some of them at a recent event, and I bought this book there and then. I like the matter-of-fact way she has of writing about terrible things - I found some of the poems beautifully blunt so that the pain of them came from me, the reader, having to read between the lines and do some work. That's the way I like to read.

[Evelyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This series of poems chronicles a woman's life as she goes from awaiting the birth of her first child, through his loss when the baby is stillborn, grief following his loss, and recovery from her grief. There are some good poems in this book, but the majority are of middling quality, and none are memorable.