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Call Out to Bird watchers and Bird lovers! for new Urban Birds project

by Paul Kielty

We are running an Arts Council England-funded project which we have called DIVERSIFLY – it is all about people’s everyday encounters with the birds that we can easily see and hear in Britain’s towns and cities. We will be creating podcasts which involve some of Britain’s best known poets along with the ‘Urban Birder’ David Lindo; and…  a full colour poetry and art book – involving well-known poets and artists – who have been chosen to reflect the diversity of Britain’s human urban populations; plus the book will also include less known, even never-before-published poets and artists from all over Britain, and from all backgrounds and walks of life.

 

But first, to help them along, we are turning to you – Britain’s resident bird experts and enthusiasts – for your help to inspire the poets and artists –  with YOUR descriptions of and photographs of your own everyday encounters with British urban birds.
Nadia Kingsley, our editor, will include these in blogs which will remain on the Fair Acre Press website during and after the project is completed…
We do hope you will be involved !

 

To send us photographs or writing please go here – to submittable – it is a safe and easy way to send your work in…

Details

  • We are interested in short descriptions or photographs about what you have seen when going about normal daily life: while waiting at the bus stop, going to work, in a train or car, and so on – but always and only when you are in a town or city, in Britain. Our underlying aim is to help people with looking, hearing, and connecting with our urban birds (and therefore enhancing their human lives, while hopefully securing a better future for our birds by increasing the number of people interested in them) – without taking even one step out of someone’s normal routine – so we don’t want anything that has been seen in a nature reserve – even if it IS in a city centre; and nothing in a village or the countryside. Not in your gardens either…
  • We are not looking for beautifully written pieces of writing. We can check the spelling. We just would love your descriptions of something you regularly see, like a blackbird every morning; or a very common sight like pigeons, or a one-off event that you didn’t go looking for – but just happened as you were on your daily jog or sitting in a cafe. Describe it in as much details as you can, what you were doing at the time, the time of year and day, if you identified the bird – how did you… that sort of thing would be lovely. But keep it short…
  • We would like the photos to be in focus!, and have a bit of town or city in them; some sign of human habitation; building; road and so on.
  • Neither the descriptions or the photographs will be in the final book. But they will remain on the website.
  • We have no idea how many of you will be kind enough to become involved with this project – but we better say at this stage that there is no guarantee that we will include all of your submissions on the website, but hope to include as many as is humanly possible.
  • When you fill the form in: one question you will be asked is –  if you would like your whole name, initials, or nothing – to be attached to your writing/ photographs. We wont be able to include other information unfortunately (like websites etc)
  • We will also ask for the town or city that your encounter was in, as that will be so interesting for everyone to know.
  • and finally.. thank you for taking an interest… and we hope you will be involved, oh…
  • …and if you know any poets or artists – whether they are published by the big publishers, or have never-been-published, or anywhere in between… could you let them know about this project? They, and you,will find more details coming soon  at www.fairacrepress.co.uk – under Urban Birds aka Diversifly.
  • There is no cost/ fee for them (or you) to submit work. And the poets and artists’ work may end up in a full colour hardback book of high quality and be given a free copy, with our thanks.

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