Byrne has been highly active in the world of poetry, holding several prestigious posts and publishing her poems in several distinguished journals. It is a little surprising then that Byrne's first collection, The Flammable Bird, received such little critical notice. The attention the book has received, however, has been overwhelmingly positive. In his review of the book for Solo: A Journal of Poetry, M. L. Williams calls Byrne's collection "a terrific first book, crackling with linguistic energy." Though Williams likes the collection as a whole, he does have favorites, which he notes "are mercurial and possessed, enjambing through a tumult of images and ideas that surprise and arrest." Williams concludes that "Byrne has crafted an excellent, surprisingly mature first collection of poems."

Williams is not alone in this assessment. In his review comments for The Flammable Bird's back cover, fellow poet Tom Lux notes the...