Commonwealth of Wings: An Ornithological Biography Based on the Life of John James Audubon

by Pamela Alexander

Combining the best of poetry, nature writing, a biography, Pamela Alexander in her book-length “persona poem” brings to life John James Audubon and a world not yet aware of nature’s limits. She distills the essence of this remarkable naturalistic-artist and gives him voice to tell his life story in fragments and letters, journal entries, actual vignettes, and lyrical passages. Captivating, and accessible, her poem reads with the authority of autobiography, the dramatic coherence of a novel, and the evocative clarity of an Audubon print. The reader, briefly transported to the natural world of America a century and a half ago, cannot help but contrast its condition today and feel a poignant sense of loss.

72 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 1991

About the author

Pamela Alexander is the author of four collections of poetry including Slow Fire (Ausable/CopperCanyon, 2007). Her other books are Inland, which won an Iowa Poetry Prize (1997); Commonwealth of Wings (1991); and Navigable Waterways, which won the Yale Younger Poets prize (1984). Her work has appeared in numerous anthologies, including American Alphabets, The Best American Poetry 2000, The Extraordinary Tide, American Voices, Poetry for a Small Planet, and Cape Discovery, and in many periodicals, including The New Yorker, The Atlantic, Orion, TriQuarterly, Poetry, The Journal, Plume, and The New Republic. Alexander’s work was included in the 1997 audio anthology One Side of the River: Poets of Cambridge and Somerville, set to music for public performance, broadcast as part of a satellite radio program, and featured on the websites of National Public Radio and the Academy of American Poets. After teaching creative writing at M.I.T. and Oberlin College for many years, she now writes poetry and nonfiction while traveling the continent in an RV with her cat. Her personal essays have appeared in Cimarron Review and The Denver Quarterly. She also writes mystery novels under the pen name Pam Fox.

Reviews

[Ashley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I listened to Alexander talk about this collection at AWP Atlanta, and have to say that I was let down by reading the actual collection. It is very nicely researched and written, but just didn't do it for me. I think someone who really loves nature would love this. (And, someone who loves historical poetry is a must)