On Wings of Song: Poems About Birds

Jacket Description/Flap: This classic, award-winning novel was included in Harold Bloom's "The Western Canon as a work likely to be cherished by future scholars, and in David Pringle's "Science Fiction: The Best 100 Novels. It treats one of mankind's most persistent fantasies as a criminal offense. Flying--it is a transcendental state, the highest exaltation of the soul, paradise itself, and it can be achieved simply by singing a song. But it is also illegal, at least in the state of Iowa, where everything's rationed, where people live in fortress-villages, and where Daniel Weinreb, intrepid native and incorrigible teen, does a stint in prison for having secretly delivered copies of the "Star-Tribune, the immoral daily from the infidel state of Minnesota. While in prison, he is advised by an inmate that if he wants to fly, he must make a mess of his life, and upon release, that is exactly what he does. For Daniel finds that he will do "anything in order to fly. Review Quotes: "Excellent. . . . [Disch's] greatest work-a writer's writer's success." --"The Village Voice "A robust writer . . . a virtuoso." --"The "New York Times Book Review "Startlingly original. . . . A cause for jubilation." --Harlan Ellison "A superb book." "--Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction "One of the most remarkably talented writers around." --"The Washington Post Book World " Big, solid and immensely enjoyable." --David Pringle, "Science Fiction: The Best 100 NovelsBiographical Note: J. D. McClatchy is the author of five collections of poems: Scenes From Another Life, Stars Principal, The Rest of the Way, Ten Commandments, and Hazmat."" He has also written two books of essays: White Paper and Twenty Questions. He has edited many other books, including The Vintage Book of Contemporary World Poetry, Poets on Painters," " and Horace: The Odes. In addition, he edits The Voice of the Poet series for Random House AudioBooks, and has written seven opera libretti. He is a Chancellor of the Academy of American Poets and a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters. He has taught at Princeton, UCLA, and Johns Hopkins, and is now a professor at Yale, where since 1991 he has edited The Yale Review. He lives in Stonington, Connecticut.

Contributor Bio:  McClatchy, J D J. D. McClatchy is Poetry Editor of "The Yale Review", and his poems, essays, and reviews appear regularly in "The New Republic, The New Yorker" and "The New York Times Book Review".