I didn't know what to expect when I opened this book, but
it turns out to be a mix between the trivial and the grim
to begin with as author Kyo Maclear faces up to mortality.
Her father is seriously ill and if she didn't have a stable
marriage, I could have seen her going downhill as in H Is
For Hawk. Instead in BIRDS ART LIFE she dabbles with
taking art lessons to give her creativity room, writes down
her musings as to why her life has changed so that she
can't relax, and she starts looking at birds.
Kyo was born in London but moved to Canada, spending time
alternately in Canada and Tokyo. She reflects on the
movements of her early life and how they drove her mother
to distraction so that the little family nearly broke
apart. In her trusting marriage, she yet starts looking at
other men. Somewhat oddly she asks a musician if she can
follow him for a year; he agrees and shows her his
apartment full of finches. A disconnect is present for the
reader as we do not get this musician's name. (It's in the
notes at the end.) But his hobby of watching birds,
especially accidental birds, those blown off course from
their usual territory, proves catching. Maybe because it
involves Kyo doing a lot of sitting around being quiet and
looking at not very much but nature.
Kyo tells us that she remembers feeding the pigeons in
Trafalgar Square, London. I've done that! But in Tokyo she
was besieged by large, aggressive jungle crows. Toronto's
birds turned out to be much more friendly. And Kyo even
took her sons out birding, finding a balance between
instruction and just letting them have fun. The pages are
interspersed with a few of the musician's bird photos, plus
occasional sketches of birds, flowers or anything that
seemed interesting as Kyo developed her creative talents.
As she recounts the newsworthy events of that year, and
monitors her father's health, she also learns more about
birds, their migrations and plight.
Bird enthusiasts probably won't find anything they didn't
know in this personal account, so I would recommend it more
to those who enjoy reading women's literature or creative
writing, or who want to see if they too could find meaning
in studying the nature around them in a city. Kyo Maclear
learns some lessons about herself and what is meaningful in
life in BIRDS ART LIFE.
A writer’s search for inspiration, beauty, and solace leads
her to birds in this intimate and exuberant meditation on
creativity and life—a field guide to things small and
significant.
When it comes to birds, Kyo Maclear isn’t seeking the
exotic. Rather she discovers joy in the seasonal birds that
find their way into view in city parks and harbors, along
eaves and on wires. In a world that values big and fast,
Maclear looks to the small, the steady, the slow
accumulations of knowledge, and the lulls that leave room
for contemplation.
A distilled, crystal-like companion to H is for Hawk,
Birds Art Life celebrates the particular madness of
chasing after birds in the urban environment and explores
what happens when the core lessons of birding are applied to
other aspects of art and life. Moving with ease between the
granular and the grand, peering into the inner landscape as
much as the outer one, this is a deeply personal year-long
inquiry into big themes: love, waiting, regrets, endings. If
Birds Art Life was sprung from Maclear’s sense of
disconnection, her passions faltering under the strain of
daily existence, this book is ultimately about the value of
reconnection—and how the act of seeking engagement and
beauty in small ways can lead us to discover our most
satisfying and meaningful lives.
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