12 December 2011

The Conference of the Birds, by Peter Sís: The Year's Best Argument Against eReaders


Evan Cohen / petersis.com

Look at the troubles happening in our world! 
Anarchy – discontent – upheaval! 
Desperate fights over territory, water, and food! 
Poisoned air! Unhappiness! 
I fear we are lost. We must do something! 

Though the words might sound like a campaign commercial¹, they’re not. Instead, they appear early in The Conference of the Birds, based on an epic poem by the twelfth-century Persian poet Farid Ud-Din Attar (as translated by Dick Davis and Afkham Darbandi). This is not the first retelling of that tale: there is even a stage play. However, this is the first version constructed around the illustrations of renowned artist Peter Sís – and it is a wonder to behold.