The Home Place: Memoirs of a Colored Man's Love Affair with Nature And Sparrow Envy:Field Guide to Birds and Lesser Beasts By J. Drew Lanham Several weeks ago @wildandincolor was featured on On Being ( @onbeing ) and I was absolutely enchanted. Mr. ( Dr.) Lanham is a fascinating human being. He' s a birder, naturalist and hunter-conservationist which in itself isn't terribly unusual but for the fact that there's only a handful of ornithologists who also happen to be black. This makes Lanham something of a rare bird. Pun intended? Absolutely! He grew up in rural South Carolina. His family's land was his wonderland. I believe it was John Muir who said, " The mountains are calling. I must go.". In that same vain, Mr. Lanham heard the birds singing and he follows their songs. The Home Place is a tender hearted memoir. I was especially drawn to Mamatha ( Mr. Lanham's grandmother). In one passage Lanham writes: Mamatha's gently furrowed face reflected a history that spanned most of the twentieth century- all of its jubilation, pain, fear, wars, and " rumors of wars," as she liked to say. She had lived through them all. I delight in J. Drew Lanham's beautifully told story. There are passages that had me laughing out loud and the moments where as a black man his discomfort and legitimate fear could be felt. A bird watching study involving looking through binoculars above a home with a confederate flag in the window would make me nervous. And I'm a white woman from the south. The Home Place is much much more. And Sparrow Envy isn't at all what I expected. It's even better! I could tell by the cover that this wasn't going to be a typical bird guide. Instead this slender volume is the most lovely ( and often profound) collection of poetry and prose that I've read since my beloved Cane by Jean Toomer. And for those who've known me for years, they understand that I couldn't possibly heap a higher praise than comparison to Cane. Sparrow Envy is a magnificent body of work. J. Drew Lanham is a master crafter of words creating vivid imagery and he DOES NOT look like Forrest Whitaker. I mean seriously. #jdrewlanham #booksbooksbooks #readersofinstagram #poetrylover #booksofig https://www.instagram.com/p/CPlJrRNFS3u/?utm_medium=tumblr
