Poems by Melissa Studdard, written to accompany Christopher Theofanidis' The Conference of the Birds for String Quartet which traces the metaphoric journey of Attãr's - The Conference of the Birds.

The bird book for birders and nonbirders alike that will excite and inspire by providing a new and deeper understanding of what common, mostly backyard, birds are doing—and why: "Can birds smell?"; "Is this the same cardinal that was at my feeder last year?"; "Do robins 'hear' worms?" "The book's beauty mirrors the beauty of birds it describes so marvelously." —NPR In What It's Like to Be a Bird, David Sibley answers the most frequently asked questions about the birds we see most often. This special, large-format volume is geared as much to nonbirders as it is to the out-and-out obsessed, covering more than two hundred species and including more than 330 new illustrations by the author. While its focus is on familiar backyard birds—blue jays, nuthatches, chickadees—it also examines certain species that can be fairly easily observed, such as the seashore-dwelling Atlantic puffin. David Sibley's exacting artwork and wide-ranging expertise bring observed behaviors vividly to life. (For most species, the primary illustration is reproduced life-sized.) And while the text is aimed at adults—including fascinating new scientific research on the myriad ways birds have adapted to environmental changes—it is nontechnical, making it the perfect occasion for parents and grandparents to share their love of birds with young children, who will delight in the big, full-color illustrations of birds in action. Unlike any other book he has written, What It's Like to Be a Bird is poised to bring a whole new audience to David Sibley's world of birds.

Birds Without Wings traces the fortunes of one small community in southwest Turkey (Anatolia) in the early part of the last century—a quirky community in which Christian and Muslim lives and traditions have co-existed peacefully over the centuries and where friendship, even love, has transcended religious differences. But with the disintegration of the Ottoman Empire and the onset of the Great War, the sweep of history has a cataclysmic effect on this peaceful place: The great love of Philothei, a Christian girl of legendary beauty, and Ibrahim, a Muslim shepherd who courts her from near infancy, culminates in tragedy and madness; Two inseparable childhood friends who grow up playing in the hills above the town suddenly find themselves on opposite sides of the bloody struggle; and Rustem Bey, a wealthy landlord, who has an enchanting mistress who is not what she seems. Far away from these small lives, a man of destiny who will come to be known as Mustafa Kemal Atatürk is emerging to create a country from the ruins of an empire. Victory at Gallipoli fails to save the Ottomans from ultimate defeat and, as a new conflict arises, Muslims and Christians struggle to survive, let alone understand, their part in the great tragedy that will reshape the whole region forever.

WINGS OF THE SAME BIRD is an impressive collection grown from the mythological idea linking birds and the human world with divine realms just beyond ordinary experience. The collection was the Winner of the IP Picks 09 Best Poetry Award. The poems connect birds with the journey of the human soul after death, representing them as primeval, cosmic, legendary, as messengers of the deities, symbols of war, death and misfortune, but also as profound harbingers of strength, love and wisdom. The poetry collection also handles grief from an objective, elevated and (excuse the pun) 'bird's eye' perspective.

A sidewalk there is still stained with his blood. Through metered poetry and a focus on sound and image, Pilgrimages traces a journey to God and self-knowledge via the side streets, stumbles, and uncertainties of the human experience. The poems in this volume explore the difficulties and burdens of life, softened by the solace of faith. Despite moments of desperation and failure, there is endless hope and beauty found in divine love.