The Life of Jeremy Dodo was 40 years in the making — just possibly a record for a 128-page novella. As a young man during the mid-1980s, I dreamed up the story of a brilliant dodo who learns multiple languages and makes his way to England following the extermination of his species on his native isle. Struggling for recognition as an author, he finally becomes a celebrity in early 18th-century London — with results that are both triumphant and disastrous.
I reached the halfway point before the turn of the millennium while working full time, but I abandoned the story when other projects (including marriage and fatherhood) came along. Finally, when my son went off to college a few years ago, the old bird called out to me. I plunged back into the story and completed the second half as if no time had elapsed — almost as if I was taking dictation from an 18th-century muse. The Life of Jeremy Dodo was now a finished novella: the purported biography of a forgotten “feather’d Celebrity,” as compiled by his loyal friend and written entirely in early 18th-century prose.
What possessed me to write this quirky story in the first place? As an American of Armenian ancestry, I can sympathize with the plight of innocent races pushed to the brink of extinction. I’m also a longtime birding enthusiast and history buff who drew considerable inspiration, many decades ago, from reading Boswell’s Life of Samuel Johnson. Finally, like Jeremy himself, I’ve struggled to make a name for myself as an author. Nearly everything in my life seemed to converge around the character of Jeremy Dodo, and I’m pleased that I’ve finally put “the great Fowle” between covers. I hope you enjoy his story.
The Life of Jeremy Dodo 