When I find myself in times of trouble
And Mother Mary is ignoring me,
I go seeking words of wisdom
In an anthology.
That’s the artistic – as well as therapeutic – beauty of a good anthology; you don’t need to be seeking anything specific to enjoy it. Simply open it to any random page and begin reading; soon you’ll find yourself thoroughly enrapt’d in a passage you’ve likely not previously read (or perhaps you have), allowing your mind to wander as it will and relax.
Take the new Birds; An Anthology published by the Bodleian Library and distributed through University of Chicago Press for example. It offers a delightful collection of writings, both literary and scientific, about its title subject. From passages by Pliny the Elder to Melissa Harrison, Geoffrey Chaucer to Tim Dee, Charles Darwin to Helen MacDonald, this new book offers a remarkable collection of perspectives both old and new on the members of the world’s most popularly and long-observed taxonomic Class of animal life.
Compiled and edited by Jacqueline Mitchell, and featuring illustrations by Eric Fitch Daglish, this is exactly the sort of book to have nearby when you’re simply looking to relax and enjoy the power of the written word – as well as the sight of a well-wrought woodcut – to carry you away to somewhere peaceful and filled with birds.
