A Word with Writers--Helen Macdonald, Vesper Flights

Friday, October 2, 2020 - 5:00pm

From the author of H is for Hawk, Helen Macdonald reads from her new book, Vesper Flights, for Bookworks' A Word with Writers literary fundraiser for the Albuquerque Public Library Foundation. Each ticket includes a book and a donation to the library foundation. To obtain the Zoom event link for the event, buy a ticket at this TICKET link:

TICKET sales have ended

Each ticket is $35 with a signed hardcover and attendance for you and a date at our October 2 Zoom virtual event with Helen Macdonald. The Zoom link will be sent to the email you used on your order by noon on the day of the event. A hardcover copy of Vesper Flights and a customized signed book plate will be shipped to your home or available for curbside service. 

Books purchased from this page will not include a ticket, though you are welcome to buy extra copies of Vesper Flights or H is for Hawk below.

About Vesper Flights:

Animals don't exist in order to teach us things, but that is what they have always done, and most of what they teach us is what we think we know about ourselves.

In Vesper Flights Helen Macdonald brings together a collection of her best loved essays, along with new pieces on topics ranging from nostalgia for a vanishing countryside to the tribulations of farming ostriches to her own private vespers while trying to fall asleep.

Meditating on notions of captivity and freedom, immigration and flight, Helen invites us into her most intimate experiences: observing the massive migration of songbirds from the top of the Empire State Building, watching tens of thousands of cranes in Hungary, seeking the last golden orioles in Suffolk's poplar forests. She writes with heart-tugging clarity about wild boar, swifts, mushroom hunting, migraines, the strangeness of birds' nests, and the unexpected guidance and comfort we find when watching wildlife.

By one of this century's most important and insightful nature writers, Vesper Flights is a captivating and foundational book about observation, fascination, time, memory, love and loss and how we make sense of the world around us.

"[An] altogether memorable collection . . . Exemplary writing about the intersection of the animal and human worlds." --Kirkus Reviews(Starred Review)

""An inviting collection... infused with wonder, nostalgia, and melancholy." --Publishers Weekly

Helen Macdonald is a writer, poet, illustrator, historian, and naturalist who lives in Cambridge, England. She is also the author of the poetry collection Shaler's Fish and H is for Hawk and a contributor to the New York Times Magazine. Follow her on Twitter @HelenJMacdonald"

H is for Hawk honors:

  • Finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award
  • Shortlisted for the Kirkus Prize in Nonfiction
  • Finalist for the Andrew Carnegie Award in Nonfiction
  • The Costa Book of the Year
  • Winner of the Samuel Johnson Prize
  • Publishers Weekly Best Books
  • NY Times Notable Bks of Year
  • Booklist Editors Choice
Event address: 
Bookworks on ZOOM
VIRTUAL EVENT
Purchase a ticket at the link above.,
Vesper Flights By Helen MacDonald Cover Image
$27.00
ISBN: 9780802128812
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 Days
Published: Grove Press - August 25th, 2020

H Is for Hawk By Helen MacDonald Cover Image
$18.00
ISBN: 9780802124739
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Grove Press - March 8th, 2016