The author of nineteen picture books, Kyo Maclear dives into subjects as clearly defined as the life of an artist, to those as amorphous as a city, a fog, or a spell of depression. Her prose is clean, clear, and restrained; at the same time, it’s subtly poetic, mingling unpredictable imagery, dialogue, and situations with evocative — sometimes even startling — effect.  

It’s a testament to Maclear’s creativity, unexpected perspectives, and varied subject matter that her publishers have chosen to have her stories illustrated by a wide variety of artists. The artists’ dramatically different styles, mixed media and inventiveness open manifold nuances of meaning, joyously confirming the bounty of interpretive possibilities in her work.   

What makes her stories most extraordinary is that they are allusive, suggestive, a mode of approaching what is vital, but puzzling. Instead of giving directions or answers, she invites interpretation and pondering, awakening curiosity, imagination and understanding through unusual imagery. Using wordplay, she can surprise her readers with what seems a direct, simple narrative, but instead provides humour, rich insight, and deeper questioning.  

“Birds Art Life is a poetic and philosophical ode to life and art, with birds as the motivating force. Facing creative inertia and “existential chagrin,” Kyo Maclear develops a bad case of wanderlust. A year spent birding in and around Toronto becomes a transformative journey—finding movement in stillness, meaning in simplicity. Ruminating on her newfound love of birds, and a broader appreciation for ‘the audacity of aiming tiny in an age of big ambitions,’ Maclear gives us an expansive and generous gift, a melancholy and joyful salve for living. With elegant, evocative prose, roaming curiosity, and quietly wild erudition, Birds Art Life is a beautiful book—lucid, exalting, and true.” – 2017 Hilary Weston Writers’ Trust Prize for Nonfiction Jury (Susan Harada, Arno Kopecky, and Siobhan Roberts)