An aviary of small birds

An Aviary of Small Birds is both elegy to a stillborn son and testament to the redemptive qualities of poetry as a transformative art.

Here, birth paradoxically becomes the moment of death when, after a long labour, the babys heart gives out.

However, just as grief is not linear, so too the book follows an emotional rather than a chronological arc.

Ultimately, it is a closely felt connection with nature that allows the author to transcend the experience and honour the spirit of her son.