T his collection of poems aims to introduce the reader to the richness of birds and the need to care for their world. The poems bring to life their beauty, their song and the intriguing and sometimes funny behaviours as well as their remarkable skills, especially in nest building. The poems are presented in a loose semblance of order beginning with the signifier poem, Unbounded Air, followed by the shorebird poems noting the urgent need to address their threatened habitat. This environmental theme continues in many of the poems. When we are more attentive, we see birds in all environments. Travel gives opportunities for fresh discoveries, particularly in Australias distinctly different environments. A number of poems reflect this happenstance. Yet, it is at home in our gardens, nearby parks and waterways where we really see birds up close. Many of the later poems represent the richness and diversity that surrounds us if we take time in our own patch.
Beverley Fitzgerald has been a writer from an early age. A childhood spent in rural South East Queensland fostered a lifelong interest in Nature with birds being a particular fascination. Her poems have been published in Hecate and short stories in collections and magazines as well as online.
Surrounded daily by birds, a poet sits down to write. The effect of these poems is as calming, joyful and uplift ing as it is when we watch birds ourselves. Kate Llewellyn, award-winning Australian poet
Unbounded Air gives a fascinating insight into the secret lives of wild birds. These beautiful, funny, sad poems will soar into your imagination and stay there forever. Sandra Hogan, author of With My Little Eye
T hese beautiful poems wash with colour, beat like wings, soar with song. For Fitzgerald, nature is a language, and noticing a sixth sense. Kristina Olsson, author of Boy Lost: a Family Memoir