BILLY AND LORD BYRON, or, A MATTER OF TIME

Billy and Lord Byron is a coming-of-age story, or Bildungsroman, focusing on the development of an eighteen-year-old boy, Billy, from youth to adulthood, through the care and healing of an injured crow he discovers while at his summer job digging ditches. Billy's personal growth and mental cultivation center on the knowledge he gains by researching this species of bird as he thoughtfully and playfully nurses the crow back to health and eventual reentry into the wild. It addresses issues of self-development as he prepares to go off to college and portends the author's cultivation of a life-long study of ornithology.

Billy and Lord Byron is a coming-of-age story, or Bildungsroman, focusing on the development of an eighteen-year-old boy, Billy, from youth to adulthood, through the care and healing of an injured crow he discovers while at his summer job digging ditches. Billy's personal growth and mental cultivation center on the knowledge he gains by researching this species of bird as he thoughtfully and playfully nurses the crow back to health and eventual reentry into the wild. It addresses issues of self-development as he prepares to go off to college and portends the author's cultivation of a life-long study of ornithology.

William (Bill) Stott, Jr. is a teacher, poet, artist, renowned ornithologist, college president and professor, and adult education consultant and lecturer. He was President of Ripon College in Ripon, Wisconsin, from 1985 to 1995. He also served as Vice President and Dean of Students at Georgetown University in Washington, DC, and Assistant Dean of Students at Fordham University in New York. Stott has taught college-level courses in the humanities, natural history, biological sciences, poetry, English and American literature, scripture, philosophy, and history. One of his most important academic achievements is his course, "The Power of Story," a comprehensive re-enactment of the entire Catholic canon, taught in eight semesters over a four-year period. An accomplished author, Bill has written several books of poetry. His artworks include sketches and drawings of birds, many of which have been exhibited at art shows. Bill is also a proud veteran and a retired lieutenant having served in the United States Naval Reserve.