A Timbered Choir
by Wendell Berry
On This Page
Description
"For more than two decades, Wendell Berry has spent his Sonday mornings in a kind of walking meditation, observing the world and writing poems."--Jacket. This volume gathers all of these poems written to date.Tags
Recommendations
Member Reviews
This past summer I paddled the Missinaibi River from Missinaibi Lake to Mattice. In the evenings around the campfire, I would read a poem or two from this volume.
Berry’s a farmer from Kentucky, so it might seem odd that his poems felt appropriate in the Northern Ontario wilderness, but that’s what you get with Berry. He is so connected and intimately familiar with his location, his writing transcends that place and becomes universally applicable.
This book is organized chronologically, containing poems written between 1979 and 1997. The poems at the start of the book are profound. By the end of the book, they’re sublime. I’ll leave you with one of his shortest works to whet your appetite.
The seed is in the ground.
Now may we show more rest in hope
While darkness does it’s work. show less
Berry’s a farmer from Kentucky, so it might seem odd that his poems felt appropriate in the Northern Ontario wilderness, but that’s what you get with Berry. He is so connected and intimately familiar with his location, his writing transcends that place and becomes universally applicable.
This book is organized chronologically, containing poems written between 1979 and 1997. The poems at the start of the book are profound. By the end of the book, they’re sublime. I’ll leave you with one of his shortest works to whet your appetite.
The seed is in the ground.
Now may we show more rest in hope
While darkness does it’s work. show less
Completely enjoyable. To be savored and received slowly. To be inspired and touch our hearts. Our creativity. And most importantly, to know the earth and the gifts she offers.
Ratings
Members
- Recently Added By
Lists
Top Five Books of 2020
982 works; 348 members
Poetry volumes by single author
121 works; 8 members
Author Information
160+ Works 24,668 Members
Wendell Berry The prolific poet, novelist, and essayist Wendell Berry is a fifth-generation native of north central Kentucky. Berry taught at Stanford University; traveled to Italy and France on a Guggenheim Fellowship; and taught at New York University and the University of Kentucky, Lexington, before moving to Henry County. Berry owns and show more operates Lanes Landing Farm, a small, hilly piece of property on the Kentucky River. He embraced full-time farming as a career, using horses and organic methods to tend the land. Harmony with nature in general, and the farming tradition in particular, is a central theme of Berry's diverse work. As a poet, Berry gained popularity within the literary community. Collected Poems, 1957-1982, was particularly well-received. Novels and short stories set in Port William, a fictional town paralleling his real-life home town of Port Royal further established his literary reputation. The Memory of Old Jack, Berry's third novel, received Chicago's Friends of American Writers Award for 1975. Berry reached his broadest audience and attained his greatest popular acclaim through his essays. The Unsettling of America: Culture and Agriculture is a springboard for contemporary environmental concerns. In his life as well as his art, Berry has advocated a responsible, contextual relationship with individuals in a local, agrarian economy. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- A Timbered Choir
- Original publication date
- 1998
- Epigraph
- The whole earth is at rest, and is
quiet; They break forth into singing.
-- Isaiah 14:7 - Dedication
- To Kathleen Raine
and Donald Hall - First words
- I go among trees and sit still.
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)There is a day
when the road neither
comes or goes, and the way
is not a way but a place
Classifications
Statistics
- Members
- 543
- Popularity
- 54,196
- Reviews
- 2
- Rating
- (4.31)
- Languages
- English
- Media
- Paper
- ISBNs
- 2
- ASINs
- 3
