It’s hard to remain indifferent to Feathers Scattered in the Wind. Tony Kendrew has the knack of placing the reader within the poems so you live them. It might be a visit to a beach in Wales or breakfast at a California cafe, the sudden passage of a peregrine or a night in the desert. Not only do you live them, you may come away wiser than you were before; the poems find meaning in everyday sights and situations, exploring connections between the outer landscape and the inner world. Nuggets of insight are scattered throughout. The collection draws together reflections on the people and places of what were the two poles of the poet’s life for many years, Northern California and Wales. The first includes a series of seven outspoken poems in praise of the river that runs through the valley he called home: Seven Views of the South Fork River. The second includes responses to his year living and rambling in and writing about West Wales. In many poems our attention is drawn to the beauty and immediacy of the natural world, encounters with wildlife, rivers in flood or the human world – the effect of a painting on the viewer or a piece of music on the listener. The poems of Feathers Scattered in the Wind let loose from the page and communicate.
Where to buy
Feathers Scattered in the Wind is published by Iconau, and available from amazon.com.
Blue Heron, a poem from Feathers scattered in the Wind, is read by the poet in the audio clickable from the column on the left.