Turkey (bird) India rather than the Americas on his voyage. In Portuguese a turkey is a "peru"; the name is thought to derive from the eponymous country Perú. Several other birds that are sometimes called turkeys are not particularly closely related: the brushturkeys are megapodes, and the bird sometimes known as the "Australian turkey" is the Australian bustard ("Ardeotis australis"). The anhinga ("Anhinga anhinga") is sometimes called a water turkey, from the shape of its tail when the feathers are fully spread for drying. An infant turkey is called a "chick" or "poult". Turkeys have been known to be aggressive toward humans
What Work Is Fame" and "Growth" are direct accounts of two of Levine's jobs as a young man. "Fear and Fame" is based on a job Levine had cleaning out and refilling acid vats in his mid twenties. "Growth" is about the job Levine held at a soap factory at the age of fourteen. Many of Levine's poems are based on his experience growing up in Detroit. The titular poem, "What Work Is", is based on Levine's experience of waiting in a Detroit employment line. "The Right Cross" is related to a boxing teacher who taught Levine to defend himself while growing up