A01=Barbara Allen
architecture
Author_Barbara Allen
avian
beatrix potter
biology
bird feces
birds
Category=JBFU
Category=WNCB
city
communication
darwin
dickens
dove
eq_bestseller
eq_isMigrated=1
eq_isMigrated=2
eq_nobargain
eq_non-fiction
eq_society-politics
fertilizer
folklore
food
isaac bashevis singer
literature
messenger
mythology
noahs ark
nonfiction
peace
pollution
poverty
proust
rat with wings
religion
scavenger
science
scraps
shakespeare
spirituality
statues
urban
war
zoology
Product details
- ISBN 9781861895134
- Weight: 408g
- Dimensions: 135 x 190mm
- Publication Date: 01 Oct 2009
- Publisher: Reaktion Books
- Publication City/Country: GB
- Product Form: Paperback
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Our frequent urban companion, cooing in the eaves of train stations or scavenging underfoot for breadcrumbs and discarded scraps, the pigeon has many detractors - and even some fans. Written out of love for and fascination with this humble yet important bird, Barbara Allen's Pigeon explores its cultural significance, as well as comparing it to the dove. While the pigeon and the dove are essentially the same bird, from the family Columbidae, the dove is seen as a symbol of peace, love and goodwill, yet the pigeon is commonly perceived as a filthy, ill-mannered ‘rat with wings’.
Readers will find here an enticing exploration of the historical and contemporary bonds between humans and these unique birds. For polluting statues and architecture, the pigeon has earned a bad reputation, but pigeons have also been sources of food, messengers and aids to scientists such as Charles Darwin. Pigeon describes the literary love for and celebration of pigeons and doves in the work of such writers and poets as Shakespeare, Dickens, Beatrix Potter, Proust and Elizabeth Barrett Browning, and shows how human exploitation of pigeons and their habitats has led to the extinction of several species, including the dodo and the passenger pigeon, and endangers many more.
Barbara Allen is a minister in the Uniting Church in Australia. Her previous publications include Pigeon (2009) and Animals in Religion (2016), both published by Reaktion.
