From the Extinct Volcano, a Bird of Paradise

by Carter Revard, Brian K. Hudson (Foreword)

Carter Revard's newest collection, From the Extinct Volcano, A Bird of Paradise, sings through poetry and prose "to celebrate our creatural selves." Revard draws from a lifetime of experience that started on the Osage reservation during the Depression era and has continued through his role as a distinguished student, teacher, scholar, and poet. In this book, he illustrates how culture, which is not restricted to the human species, has survived through the practice of singing. In showing us this, Revard skillfully blends narratives of nonhuman animal behavior, scientific studies on the nature of language, and literary allusions. From the Extinct Volcano, A Bird of Paradise demonstrates how survival ultimately depends on song.

100 pages, Paperback

First published February 15, 2014

About the author

Carter Curtis Revard is an American poet, scholar, and writer. He is of European American and Osage descent, and grew up on the tribal reservation in Oklahoma. He is also known by his Osage name, Nompehwahthe, given to him by his paternal grandmother.
Her earned a PhD in English at Yale University in 1959. He first aught at Amherst College, and moved to Washington University in St. Louis in 1961, where he spend the rest of his academic career, specializing in medieval British literature and linguistics.

Reviews

[Kila Knight · Rating 3 out of 5]

More like a 3.5

Many of the poems had notes directly after the poem and some even had introductions. While unusual, I often found the notes and intros were helpful and contributed to the meaning of the poem, especially for the poems about cultural practices. The poems and prose that appeared to have a personal narrative were the most compelling.

The beginning and the end of the book had the strongest poetry and prose but much of what was in the middle used dry, plain language and read like a fact sheet or even a Wikipedia entry or Google search result (one of the few notes that seemed unnecessary even referenced Wikipedia).

Revard's writing style would be considered a little outdated for poetry today (and when the book was published), but his writing is still incredibly skilled and I appreciated how precise his writing was.

[World Literature Today]

"Those who are hearing [Revard's] songs and stories for the first time will likely be inspired to listen closely to what he has to say as they follow the echoes of others’ voices, echoes that inspire the songs he keeps alive." - Sarah O’Connell, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee

This book was reviewed in the September 2014 issue of World Literature Today. Read the full review by visiting our website: http://bit.ly/Zhay14