Window Poems

Window Poems by Wendell Berry with wood engravings by Wesley Bates

 

Written at the Long Legged House (Berry’s cabin by the river), the Window Poems feel like early work—of a man testing himself and earning his way. These twenty-seven short poems follow one on another, rising and ebbing as Berry considers the world outside his window alongside the weight of his own convictions. Though he is widely known for the clear-sightedness of his essays, Wendell Berry has always been a poet. There’s an edge and a vibrance in these poems—a sharp ear for the way words rub and fit—that seem to have softened in his later work: 

 

 

Yet in keeping with the careful economy he strives to live by, the words are not an end in themselves. They serve to help the writer find his way to meaning and more authentic being in the world he shares with all living things (such as the birds at his feeder): 

 

 

Originally designed and printed on a handpress with wood engravings accompanying the handset text, the book itself is a testament to Berry’s own attentive habitation.

 

Members (Patrons+) receive 10% discount, plus many other perks!

Learn more and support cultural renewal here.

Exercise the virtue of patience, resist Amazon, and support Eighth Day Books. Give them a call at 1.800.841.2541 between 10 am and 8 pm CST Mon-Sat and engage in a conversation about books and ideas with a live human person who reads books and loves to discuss them. Or, if you insist, visit their website at www.eighthdaybooks.com.