Birds Of North America
Document Type
Book
Publication Date
2021
Published In
Birds Of North America
Abstract
This book features a series of miniature drawings of North American birds by Susan Hagen and includes two characteristic individuals of each bird species, a male and a female. Most of the birds were encountered first-hand while walking in wetlands, forests, and urban landscapes, and many were spotted in and around Philadelphia during the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020 and 2021. All drawings are by Susan Hagen - 2020 and 2021; conté and watercolor on paper; 2 x 3 inches. Two thirds of North American birds are currently at risk of extinction due to habitat loss, climate change, and widespread ecological crisis. This book contains 82 of Susan Hagen's drawings, along with text by poets Nathalie Anderson and Lisa Sewell - who collaborated on an interactive series of poems that developed from their responses to the drawings and incorporated their personal experiences with birds. The poetic format of Sewell and Anderson's work is derived from the rondelet, whose back and forth structures echo the way birds call and sing to each other across space. This project is a multi-faceted inquiry into the beauty, meaning, and reality of birds in our time.
Published By
Susan Hagen in conjunction with The Drawing Room
Recommended Citation
S. Hagen, Nathalie Anderson, and L. Sewell. (2021). Birds Of North America.
https://works.swarthmore.edu/fac-english-lit/397