The True Account of Myself as a Bird

by Robert Wrigley

From an award-winning poet, a new collection that endeavors to pass along what the things of the earth are telling usOver the course of his career Robert Wrigley has won acclaim for the emotional toughness, sonic richness, and lucid style of his poems, and for his ability to fuse narrative and lyrical impulses.  In his new collection, Wrigley means to use poetry to capture the primal conversation between human beings and the perilously threatened planet on which they love and live, proceeding from a line from   “All we are not stares back at what we are.”  In language that is both elegiac and playful, declarative and yet ringingly musical; in traditional sonnets, quatrains, and free verse, Wrigley transcribes the consciousness and significance of every singing thing—in order to sing back.

Genres: Poetry, Audiobook

106 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 14, 2022

About the author

Robert Wrigley is the author of seven books of poetry, including, most recently, Earthly Meditations: New and Selected Poems (Penguin, 2006); Lives of the Animals (Penguin, 2003), winner of the 2005 Poets Prize; and Reign of Snakes (Penguin, 1999), winner of the 2000 Kingsley Tufts Award in Poetry. His book, In the Bank of Beautiful Sins (Penguin, 1995) won the San Francisco Poetry Center Book Award, and his poems have appeared in many periodicals, including The New Yorker, The Atlantic, Poetry, and The American Poetry Review. His poems have been reprinted twice in the Best American Poetry anthologies, and five times in the Pushcart Prize collections. Recipient of fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Idaho Commission on the Arts, Wrigley is Professor of English and teaches in the MFA Program in Writing at the University of Idaho. He lives in the woods near Moscow, Idaho, with his wife, the writer Kim Barnes. "

Reviews

[Keely · Rating 5 out of 5]

The voice is different than what I’m used to, and I didn’t like the first poem, and therefore put off reading it because I didn’t anticipate liking the rest. But most of the poems were strikingly thoughtful and beautiful. Robert writes like a person who loves words and and has a deep appreciation for nature. Maybe that’s what some people mean when they say he is old fashioned. I do think that we encounter that voice and perspective in poetry less these days. His work was full of wonder for our planet and that feels very fresh to me. Contemporary poetry is often exceptionally inward looking in my opinion.

It is also so unusual to read someone like him! He is over 50, a white man living in Idaho who likes to backpack and live remotely who is empathetic to grasshoppers. He sings and plays guitar for deer and butterflies, admires owls and wolves, and writes about taking all the AK-47’s to the furnace to be made into better, kinder objects. He gets distracted by the biggest, sexiest pair of red high heels in the thrift store, so he tries them on himself and writes about the experience. In this poem he reflects on the beauty and power the former owner had (a large woman or man) and how wonderful they must have been, how they must have danced the night away. He imagines being a lucky dance partner of this person in a daydream. He is an American man who, when observing a statue of Perseus holding Medusa’s head, reads it like a feminist, suggesting that Perseus, both himself and his manhood, are just such a small part (hee hee) in the much more interesting story of Medusa herself. The way these thoughts come to him feels so guileless and natural. Often poetry on such topics can feel contrived and posturing. I really was surprised by him and enjoyed his work tremendously!

[Bridget Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

I only annotate books I feel passionate about, and my copy of The True Account of Myself as a Bird has been thoroughly and lovingly marked by my pencil. In many of Wrigey's poems, I can see the natural world from another person's point of view like a brief camera flash. That part of nature is astoundingly bright and stunning for just a moment. The only reason I gave this book four stars instead of five is because not every poem had a vivid moment such as this for me. It is so worth it to read through The True Account of Myself as a Bird for the many gems you will find. My favorite poem from this book, and simply one of my favorite poems, is Moss Loves Bone to Death. Mice living in a moss-carpeted gray whale skull. That's all I'll say. Go read it for yourself :)

[‘phie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had the privilege of reading this short book of poems for a college Creative Writing class, and while poetry is not at all my strong suit, I absolutely loved this book. The poems featured are all so beautiful in different ways, but my favorite by far would have to be "Moss Loves Bone To Death." If you are a poetry lover, or simply looking for an introduction to poetry, I would highly recommend this book.

[Featherbooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

The True Account of Myself as a Bird by Robert Wrigley, who lives in Idaho and has a talent for poems about high heeled red shoes, birds, the countryside or the machinery his father used:
the mountain's last drift of snow
resembling the back of a sounding whale. Hear the thrum of the rigging,
Daggoo? Hear its profoundest woo, its sensible gobbledy-goo
and doo-wop, the boo-hoos of the spheres, by vectors and veers,
by tacks and refractal jabberings, taking us deeper into the weirdness
of the ghost sea those prairie hills were the bottom of once,
this nowhere we shall not be returning from.
Draw the lines! Assume the crow's nest, Pip. This ship
sails on music and wind, and away with birds.

[Annika Schmekel · Rating 5 out of 5]

A True Account of Myself As a Bird is mainly a collection of prose, small moments in his life he captured in vivid creations filled with unique experimentation of language. I found his description and technique to be beneficial in my own experience as an aspiring poet. Reading this, you'll find pieces of Wrigley himself, lessons on engaging and artistic poetry, and an opportunity to see a little more magic in the smaller moments of your life.

[_Asa · Rating 2 out of 5]

If this collection was published 20 years ago I might feel differently about it, but for the most part it felt, for lack of a better word...old-fashioned? Thank you to the publisher for the ARC, but it just doesn't read as a collection people will be too excited about in 2022; it's not bad, just a bit boring and not too relevant.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to this poem (poems?) read by the author. Started out seeming odd but then I really got to like it, just before I fell asleep. So in the morning I went back and listened to it again and liked it very much. Went to my library hoping to find more books by the author, but they did not have any.

[David Abrams · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nearly all the poems in this collection are good bordering on great, but that final poem "Chorus," where Wrigley is picking a Beatles tune on his guitar while a nearby deer listens is enough to blow your mind, leaving nothing but a smoking curl coming from the neck of your shirt.

[AZ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredibly engaging poetry that serves as a deep dive into the mind of Wrigley and his view of the world. Wrigley is a master of subject, rhyme, and sonnets! If you are an enjoyer of poetry you will certainly enjoy this book.

[Parker Gray · Rating 3 out of 5]

Still great poems but not as transcended as his other stuff

[James Alexander Standal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Many other reviewers are braindead. This is Wrigley's best work since Beautiful Country. Wrigley made a comeback in my eyes, and I want more.

[Lintulintu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wrigley has a very unique voice (alternately formal and down-to-earth), and the poems offer a view into his strong relationship with nature and the outdoors.

[Zaid Nomani · Rating 5 out of 5]

An interesting read throughout, with many poems that hit personally. Definitely a book I will stick with and reread throughout my life.

[Melania Kourtikoski · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this book for a creative writing class. It helped us greatly in our pursuit to expand our horizons when reading poetry.

[Ella Reynolds · Rating 5 out of 5]

I got the opportunity to meet Robert Wrigley in a creative writing class. I appreciated his insight and inspirational messages. Incredible poems. I loved reading!

[Erin Shamley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful nature-inspired poems with insight and grace.

[Adriana Narvaez · Rating 1 out of 5]

i want to be who i was before i sat through this

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5* The scrambled syntax threw me off pretty often but i liked the collection overall

Favorites: To The Man, The Flower of All Water, and What It Is