Der Bartgeier

Abstract

Intertwining research and field notes, this poem traces the complex relationship between humans and the bone-eating Alpine bird, the bearded vulture (Bartgeier). Hunted to extinction in the early-twentieth century, the bearded vulture was reintroduced to the Alps in the 1980s. Atmospheric in its reach, the poem shifts across vast spatial and temporal scales while also ruminating on the reparative potential and limitations of language, ultimately seeking to return a sense of agency to the largest bird in the Alps.