Native Bird

by Bryan Walpert

In Native bird, Bryan Walpert - who arrived here from the United States a decade ago - writes of what it's been like to be an observer or 'birdwatcher' in a land whose physical and cultural geographies he is still learning to name. With precision and insight, he weaves meditations on birds with the demands of family life in semi-rural, wind-charged Manawatu. At the shifting borders between homes and hearts, prose and poetry, call and song - the poet summons what it means to adapt to new landscapes in an arresting collection that speaks to us all.

79 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2015

Reviews

[Jenna Heller · Rating 5 out of 5]

I didn’t have any expectations about this collection. Unfamiliar with the poet. Not a recommended read. But it fell into my lap and after skimming some of the language, I decided to give it a go. So. Glad. I. Did. I really, really loved it. I will probably re-read it a few times over the next couple of months. So restrained and beautiful, just like a bird standing on the foreshore, looking out to sea. Highly recommended.

[Gail Ingram · Rating 5 out of 5]

This poems are clever and beautiful, and I've been back to them several times, finding something new on each reading. I love the way they're inter-related, but each so intimate and honest about what it is to live in a country you weren't born in and have to get to know. It's so cool it's a book about birds that's not about birds -- everything poetry should be -- mysterious, touching.

[Simon Sweetman · Rating 5 out of 5]

A refreshingly clever set of poems, this. Haven't read his previous volumes, but what a talent. Really loved the meta-commentary anger and the very subtle humour in some of the poems. Also the observation on display here was sometimes startling/mesmerising.