A Convergence of Birds: Original Fiction and Poetry Inspired by Joseph Cornell

Rating:
Summary: the blackbird whistling
Review: I received this book from an old friend who I hadn't seen in nearly twenty years--she showed up unannounced, spent a few hours sitting in the sun, and then disappeared just as unexpectedly. I still don't know if she meant to leave the book behind, but I've decided that I won't give it up. Cornell's boxes have a strange beauty that seems to attract strange birds--deceptively simple, at first you barely realize how quickly you can slip into these lost, overlooked, forgotten worlds that seem hum along according to an amusingly skewed logic. Many of the stories and poems show writers who've successfully crossed over and have sent back postcards filled with the fresh and unfamiliar voices of travellers far from home.

Rating:
Summary: Convergence - for the birds
Review: I too am a big fan of Joseph Cornell, and this sort of new book, A Convergence of Birds, is one that I was eager to read. The first short story, Emory Bear Hands' Birds, by Barry Lopez is powerful and worthy of being placed in this anthology. But the rest of the collection, pa-tooey. Even the Joyce Carol Oates contribution is suspiciously unworthy of publication. The rest of the pieces, both the poetry and short stories, are simply stream of consciousness junk writing that should never have found publication anywhere, least of all, in this beautiful-looking tribute to Cornell. Perhaps there are writer snobs "out there" who claim to understand this stuff, but once again I'm afraid the emperor is wandering around looking for his underwear.

Rating:
Summary: a great book for Cornell fans
Review: With it's tipped in plates and beautiful end papers I think this book is a bibliophile's dream. Being a big fan of Cornell's work I was very impressed and pleased with the overall packaging, which I find to be quite lovely, and the quality of the writing. Finally I was really impressed when I found out that the editor put it all together while he was still in college. I think this is a great book for fans of Joseph Cornell's boxes.