Edward O'Connor – Writer, editor, part-time birder
The last sentence in Shelley’s A Defense of Poetry is the only one most people remember: “Poets are the unacknowledged legislators of the world.” But the argument that precedes this statement is even more provocative than its conclusion. Shelley argues that poets have always had a tangible effect on the laws that govern human societies … Read more
Am I the only one who still remembers and esteems this album? I bought my copy at Spec’s Music store in Miami the year it was released. I was fourteen years old and listened to the LP so many times that I wore down the grooves on the vinyl, and the record snapped, crackled, and … Read more
It started with a scream. I was walking down the dirt path that surrounds a pond on the Leslie Street Spit in Toronto. To my right were stands of weeds and wildflowers, and to my left the pond, which was covered with lilypads. At the end of summer, the path was dry and dusty. I … Read more
“Let’s face it, pictures of birds are boring.” Or so said the American author and devout birder Jonathan Rosen in one of the many articles he has published in the New York Times. Some of us would disagree with such a blanket statement. We find pictures of birds, whether they be paintings or photographs, quite … Read more
At first glance, the adverb may not seem like the most fascinating subject under the sun. In fact, this part of speech has sparked many passionate debates among editors, writers, and those of us who simply like to read. The current controversy is easy to summarize: Should writers avoid using the adverb entirely, or should … Read more
At the end of July, my wife and I left Toronto to spend a week in a cottage on Manitoulin Island. The largest fresh-water island in the world stretches across the top of Lake Huron for 160 kilometers (100 miles). It takes the better part of seven hours to drive there from Toronto, so I … Read more
I took this photo of three Trumpeter Swans on the shore of Lake Ontario about five years ago. The way it sets up, with the swans on either side looking in the same direction, and the one in the middle turned slightly away, reminds me of the structure of classical haiku. As you may know, … Read more
More than twenty species of mammals have been recorded on Toronto’s Leslie Street Spit, an artificially constructed peninsula that juts into Lake Ontario from the city’s east end. With more than three million people, Toronto puts the kind of pressure on its parks and green spaces that should eliminate any hint of the wild and … Read more
I have been thinking and writing about Audubon’s story of the Fair Incognito, the woman who commissioned him to draw her portrait in the nude, for the past two or three years. I kept returning to the subject because I never thought I really understood why the artist felt compelled to set this story down … Read more
My friend and sometime birding companion, Lynn Pady, recently sent me a copy of Gerard Manley Hopkins’ “The Windhover,” a poem about the bird we call a Kestrel. I don’t know for sure but suspect this may be a product of spring fever on Lynn’s part. It’s not the first time she’s emailed me this … Read more