The Bonds of Nest and Urn

<p><i>The Bonds of Nest and Urn</i> examines the forms and purposes of nature and art revealing how the artist’s vision—sometimes Orphic sometimes Christian—ultimately unites the two. The spirit moves through number and metaphor and the volume asks whether poetry can exist apart from history or personality even though both inevitably remain present. The narrative arc of the poems flows from art to nature though the two remain deeply intertwined. Many pieces focus on flora and fauna with birds serving as muses and trees imagined both as objects of artistic perspective and as towering emblems of nature commanding respect and at times fear. Stones are regarded as objects of art reverence and scientific inquiry while the poems draw connections among the four classical elements—fire air water and earth. The volume’s richly layered personal and cultural perspectives informed by the poet’s American upbringing and years in Ireland and Italy offer a nuanced exploration of how nature and culture shape human experience. Readers who appreciate poetry with a vivid sense of place will find much to savor.<br /></p>