The Language of Birds

Chance, the great beloved of gamblers, lovers, generals and kings, has long held sway over mortal affairs. Whether embodied as the goddess Fortuna and her ever-turning wheel, or the abstract mathematic of ‘randomness’, her favor is universally sought, and her displeasure feared. To the devotee of Chance, the arts of divination may be regarded as her secret liturgy, providing glimpses of the unknown to those she esteems. Into the retort of the alchemist-poet, Pendell compounds portent, omen, oracle, and the art of prediction to distill The Language of the Birds, a reverie upon the nature of the Luck, Lady Fortune and the sacred function of Chance.

Out of print since 2017, the second edition of The Language of Birds contains a new foreword to the work by Andrew Schelling, author of Tracks Along the Left Coast (Counterpoint Press, 2017). It is 72 pages, printed on heavy acid-free art stock, with eleven illustrations, including an original image by the author in full color. Fully redesigned by Joseph Uccello and Daniel Schulke, it pays homage to the spirit of the original design created by Pendell and Schulke in 2009. The Language of Birds consists of a trade paper edition, a standard hardcover edition in black cloth with dust jacket, limited to 500 hand-numbered copies, and a deluxe edition in full blue goatskin with slipcase, limited to 16 copies in total.

Softcover and standard hardcover copies are in stock now.