Paper Birds: Feather by Feather/ Pajaros de papel: plums for pluma

By Sonia Guitierrez

Paper Birds: Feather by Feather / Pájaros de papel: Pluma por pluma is a bilingual poetry collection, in English and Spanish, by the recipient of the Tomás Rivera Book Award Sonia Gutiérrez, with translations by Francisco Bustos. Paper Birds: Feather by Feather / Pájaros de papel: Pluma por pluma received an honrable Mention, The Juan Felipe Herrera Best Poetry Book Award-One Author-Bilingual, from the International Latino Book Awards.

"Sonia Gutiérrez's poems dive into the blue/turquoise feathers of life along the border, within the cultural waves of Raza tumult and celebration; her poems strike the bone like drumsticks. These poems pat the heart like a mother's loving hand, lock arms with sisters and brothers like a fellow guerillista, she sings from the blood like the ocean waves the shore, she spirals her poetic magic until transformation occurs, and we are changed-bravo!"

-Jimmy Santiago Baca, author of No Enemies: Poems

"Sonia Gutiérrez writes visceral, magical poems of power and grace. She speaks to legacies, homage, and justice. The Spanglish translations weave beautifully with the English into a tapestry of important questions for our country and our time. Paper Birds: Feather by Feather is a gift of necessary heat, music, and ultimately, joy."

-Lee Herrick, Poet Laureate of California and author of Scar and Flower