The Conference of the Birds J.D. Salinger selected as the 2004 winner

selected as the 2004 winner of the Yale Younger Poets prize

After reading The Dictionary of Body Language

A medieval scholar’s act of betrayal goads his wife into murder

A priceless manuscript

is living a quiet life in the beach town

The Conference of the Birds J.D. Salinger selected as the 2004 winnerComposed in the twelfth century in north eastern Iran, Attar's great mystical poem is among the most significant of all works of Persian literature. A marvellous, allegorical rendering of the Islamic doctrine of Sufism an esoteric system concerned with the search for truth through God it describes the consequences of the conference of the birds of the world when they meet to begin the search for their ideal king, the Simorgh bird. On hearing that to