This paperback edition of Songbirds and Roses, The Unusual Life Story of an Unusual Poem (ISBN 979-8-9994482-1-7) features dramatic black and white renderings of the original color plates published in the eBook format (ISBN 979-8-9994482-0-0). More than simple illustrations of the story, they provide an experience of extra-sensory immersion capable, to an extent, of duplicating the shared adventure as the author-poet-artist first experienced it.
The listing here on AuthorsDen is also the first to include the corresponding video: A Glimpse Inside the Mystery of Songbirds and Roses.
The captivating music of birds and the enchanting beauty of roses have, each in their own right, inspired people around the world for as long as anyone can remember. How the two combine with the challenges faced by a struggling writer in Georgia to create a nonfiction metaphysical mystery makes for compelling reading.
The question of why any of this matters at times of historic political upheavals, world-destroying wars, extreme climate change events, and painful social tensions is an important one. The answer has to do with how the labors of human imagination and the elusive mysteries of life itself, help us confront some of humanities biggest problems with small surprises.
As stated at the beginning of the first chapter of SONGBIRDS AND ROSES, it all starts with a midnight invasion of seemingly harmless birds. Their raucous sing-song chatter unsettles the well-organized life of a writer, who is also a dedicated caregiver, in a way never anticipated. Frustration eventually gives way to understanding the birds represent something more than infuriating aggravation. They come bearing an unexpected gift that eventually creates a ripple effect of connections and music through different lives and communities.
The book also features a bonus story in which a bus ride, and a power line filled with resting birds, prompts provocative questions about the choices we make when it comes to putting more faith in violence than in peace.
Readers of such titles by Aberjhani as Dreams of the Immortal City Savannah, These Black and Blue Red Zone Days, and The American Poet Who Went Home Again are familiar with his innovative blends of literary style. Songbirds and Roses provides the perfect opportunity for readers new to his work to discover his captivating fusion of personal essay, literary history, spiritual reflections, poetry, and sociopolitical commentary.
Wishing you many readers, Aberjhani.