I was inspired by Jason Coats’ #vizpoem students sharing poetry images on Twitter (see the whole course here) and decided to take a stab at an old favorite – Wallace Stevens Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird.
Source files for the crow and mountains.
Tom, I’ve been looking for a gif of a blackbird (or any bird, really), hovering in midair while it rides a wild current. — that’s for “The river is moving; the blackbird must be flying.” Any guesses where I can find one off the grid?
The murmurations stuff is out there. There’s also stuff like this and this. I actually really like this one and this one.
Sounds like a kestrel falcon–one of Hopkins’ windhovers. I saw one in Cornwall once. The achieve of, the mastery of the thing!
Pretty impressive looking.
Best. Animated. Gif. Ever.
Oh, I get it. This post has two of the ways. But the other eleven ways are still in mystery space. I was looking for the button to click to go to the next one, but I didn’t find it. So then I was thinking and looking for arrows (figures!) and then I read the title again and then it popped into my head.
So now I will wait using my patience for more of the ways.
But I was thinking, would this work if there was music to go along with it?
Like:
“The first way of blackbirds was blogged upon this day,
• one blackbird eye.
The second day of blackbirds was blogged another day,
• three blackbird tree,
• one blackbird eye.
The third day of blackbirds was blogged another day,
• ______________________. <————— (insert day three blackbird thing here)
• three blackbird tree,
• one blackbird eye.
The fourth day of blackbirds was blogged another day,
• ______________________. <————— (insert day four blackbird thing here)
• ______________________. <————— (insert day three blackbird thing here)
• three blackbird tree,
• one blackbird eye.
…"
and so on.
Well???
I will do what I can if you’ll sing the song.
Well, there would be room for it on my True Friends album, which is due out in May …
I will watch for more crows, and then the pictures would make a great visual accompaniment for my song.