Bird Songs in Literature: Bird Songs and the Poems They Have Inspired

by Joseph Wood Krutch (Editor), Peter Kellogg (Editor), Edgar Allan Poe

This rare treat for the nature lover, developed by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, is a special collection of over forty bird songs and the beloved poems they inspired.

The songs of birds have been an inspiration to poets since before the days of Chaucer. Shelley’s skylark, Keats’s nightingale, and scores of other birds, some familiar, some little known, are celebrated throughout English and American literature. Now, for the first time, thanks to modern techniques, we can hear on one recording both the words of the poem itself and the song of the bird that inspired it.

How many of us who have read about the skylark and nightingale since our school days have ever heard their famous song? And, vice versa, how many of us realize the extent to which birds have appeared in the work of leading English and American poets? This latest addition of the Sounds of Nature series has been prepared with running commentary by the distinguished author and naturalist Joseph Wood Krutch. Songs and calls of almost fifty of the more common birds of England and North America are heard. They are identified by the narrator Frederick G. Marcham, professor of English history at Cornell University and ornithologist and naturalist as well. The editing and composition of the recording were under the expert direction of Peter Kellogg, profession emeritus of ornithology and bioacoustics. Dr. Kellogg and the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology spared no effort in obtaining the best recorded songs of the birds available to supplement those taken from the Library of Natural Sounds at the Laboratory.

The field records of bird songs were made by a dedicated team of more than thirty people.

Some ofthe poems here, among fifty-six in all, include “The Raven” by Edgar Allan Poe, “The Oriole’s Secret” by Emily Dickinson, “An Essay on Man” by Alexander Pope, “Roadless Area” by Paul Brooks, “To a Skylark” by Percy Bysshe Shelley, “The Jackdaw” by William Cowper, “The Birds of Killingworth” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, “The Princess” by Alfred Lord Tennyson, “The Oven Bird” by Robert Frost, “Thoreau’s Flute” by Louisa May Alcott, “The Wasteland” by T. S. Eliot, and “The Song of Songs” from the Old Testament.

Genres: Poetry, Nonfiction, Audiobook, Nature, Birds

ebook

First published January 1, 2004

About the author

Works of American critic, naturalist, and writer Joseph Wood Krutch include The Modern Temper (1929) and The Measure of Man (1954).

He worked as a professor at Columbia University from 1937 to 1953. Moving to Arizona in 1952, he wrote books about natural issues of ecology, the southwestern desert environment, and the natural history of the Grand Canyon, winning renown as a naturalist and conservationist. Krutch is possibly best known for A Desert Year , which won the John Burroughs medal in 1954.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_...

Reviews

[Tif · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the idea of the audio book, but I was disappointed to find the reader talked about the poetry, reciting only a few lines of each poem rather than reading the entire poem. My cat appreciated the bird songs, though.

[Pixelina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely little audiobook about birds in poetry.

[Sally Troche · Rating 4 out of 5]

a quick read- i just love birds and poetry- i got distracted while reading it so only remember some of it. what i paid attention to was lovely.

[David · Rating 2 out of 5]

"The Cock has always been very important for Shakespeare"

[Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful little audiobook, combining literary readings with bird song recordings. Pro Tip - Listen outside on a Bluetooth speaker to attract curious local birds!

[Shirleynature · Rating 3 out of 5]

Listen to Frederick G. Marcham's light British accented reading of poetry excerpts accompanied by relaxing bird songs.

[Alexis · Rating 2 out of 5]

Add another one to the shelf of "great on concept, but errors in execution were made."

I took this out because I wanted a relaxing audiobook to help wind down before bed and, in some ways, it delivered on that. I liked that it was an audiobook that made the most of its medium, since it included audio of each birdsong.

By far, the most entertaining thing about this was laying back and trying to tell the different birds apart.

...But for that, I could have just had non-stop audio of birds singing with a quick label to tell the species. This was supposed to be equally about the poetry. And you didn't get a lot of that. You got only snippets of the poems, rather than the full poems themselves, and in between that, there was a lot of narration that came across as a university lecture.

If you want a non-fiction book about poetry, this might be for you, but if you're picking this up as a poetry book, you're probably going to be disappointed.

[ReaderofBooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Leuk audioboek
Mijn vogels geven het 5 sterren 😂

[Ruth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Audio book. Short and tweet.

[Jessica Russell · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was hoping for a series of poems read with a background of the birds that inspired them. Instead, this is more of an essay on the topic of birds songs in poetry, and because of that there are just snippets of poems. It’s fine, just not particularly entertaining.

[Kristy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short audio book, but pleasant listen for this bird nerd. I wish there was less commentary and more poetry though.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

To be honest, I played this 44 minute meditation on birdsong and poetry so my cat and I could take a nap. We were both interested but we did, indeed fall asleep (probably not til about mark 30 or so, however.)

Occasionally the narrator seems more bored than relaxed, but overall this is a pretty lovely little book.

[Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

This short yet wonderful read is great for bird watchers and poetry fans alike!
I loved that they combined birdsongs, info on birds, and poems.

Wonderful & educational!
The Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology is a cool place!

[Safa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would have preferred to hear the full poems and not only excerpts. Also the part about the kuku bird was quite nauseating (they acknowledge the sound is bothersome but then they played it in the background for a few full minutes). With all that said, it was nice to listen to overall.

[Dodie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I got this as an audio book from the library. This audio book is a production from Cornell Lab of Ornithology. I liked hearing the birds as parts of literature or poems were read about that particular bird. They also talked about myth and folk lore about the different types of birds.

[Melissa Rochelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this while hunting Libby for something to read as I fall asleep. This is an audio-only of bird songs and poetry collected by Cornell Labs. I'd listen to more than 45 minutes on this topic, perhaps they'll update one day and publish a book.

[Lisa Rei · Rating 2 out of 5]

Bird songs were great but the shift between stories and poems was challenging to follow. Better audio production would have received a better review.

[Nick's Introvert Nook · Rating 3 out of 5]

Relaxing audiobook to help you sleep.

[Sarah Kathleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I expected this to be more like a poetry anthology, but it's more of an essay with quotes from poetry. I still liked the innovative format of combining prose and birdsong.

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a pleasant little audiobook! For those of us who have struggled to catch the birdsong references in lit, it was so helpful to actually hear those songs paired with the artistic references.

[DW Folmar · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this delightful. Please note there are no poems read in full, but lots of bird voices.

[Jessie · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 cool book about birds

[Jolanda Goede · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5

[Katy Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love birds. This was so interesting

[Caroline Liberatore-Logan · Rating 2 out of 5]

A lovely little audiobook — very reminiscent of older eras of radio programming — but ultimately unsatisfactory in breadth and focus of content.

[Janelle]

Not great for American birds, but very fun!

[a0e · Rating 1 out of 5]

1.5
Bez audiobooka bez sensu jest

[victoria · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved listening to all of the bird calls ✨🦅🦢🕊️🦆

[Marisa Jordan · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5*

[يوسف عبداللطيف · Rating 4 out of 5]

What sets "Bird Songs in Literature: Bird Songs and the Poems They Have Inspired" apart is that "Joseph Wood Krutch" pulls zero punches. The direct breakdown of power dynamics makes this required reading for anyone tired of being misled.