J. Drew Lanham’s Sparrow Envy
4/27/20264 min
It’s National Poetry Month in the U.S., and each year we like to celebrate by sharing our favorite contemporary writers’ work about birds. Ornithologist and poet J. Drew Lanham often writes about racial justice, and his experience as a Black man in the outdoors — both the joy of being in nature and the racism he faces in the field. Sometimes that's led him to birding spots that others might pass by. In this episode, Drew shares a poem inspired by little brown sparrows thriving in overlooked places.
More info and transcript at BirdNote.org.
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Transcript preview
First 90 secondsMark Bramhill· Host0:00
This is BirdNote. I'm Mark Bramhill. It's National Poetry Month in the U.S., and each year we like to celebrate by sharing our favorite contemporary writers' work about birds. Ornithologist and poet J. Drew Lanham often writes about racial justice and his experience as a Black man in the outdoors. Like when he was out birding- And this racist man, he had threatened me in this place where I traditionally looked for White-crowned Sparrows.
J. Drew Lanham· Guest0:30
So I was looking for them in this other space that was, you know, a lot of people would pass by and not look at. And, um, I didn't find White-crowned Sparrows, but I was looking at Swamp Sparrows, and a Lincoln's Sparrow.
Mark Bramhill· Host0:47
[Lincoln's Sparrow singing] In the face of injustice, Drew has found that joy can be a powerful act of resistance. And so watching these sparrows in habitat that many people would overlook inspired a poem celebrating these little brown birds.
J. Drew Lanham· Guest1:06
[Sparrow singing] [gentle music] "Sparrow Envy." Were I the sparrow, brown-backed, skittish, and small, I would find haven in thorniest thickets, search far and wide for fields lain fallow, treasure the unkempt,