Traveling at Home

by Wendell Berry, John Depol (Illustrator)

Poems deal with nature, the seasons, walks, creation, rain, marriage, mortality, work and rural life

Genres: Poetry, Nonfiction, Nature

64 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 1989

About the author

Wendell Berry is a conservationist, farmer, essayist, novelist, professor of English and poet. He was born August 5, 1934 in Henry County, Kentucky where he now lives on a farm. The New York Times has called Berry the "prophet of rural America."

Reviews

[Sheila · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice, but that was about it. Poetry is a finicky thing, and it either speaks to you or it doesn't, and this one, while nice, really didn't reach out and grab me, though it certainly may do so to others.

I did enjoy the poem "The Eager Dog Lies Strange and Still", but then I'm a total dog person so lots of dog things grab me. There were also some great single lines in some of the other poems about home and life and work, but as a whole there is not a lot that I remember about these, and it was a pretty short poetry book.

[Tessa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stunning.

[Caroline Odom · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading Berry's poetry feels like taking a peaceful walk in the woods. I think that's exactly what he intended.

[Ray Zimmerman · Rating 5 out of 5]

This slim volume includes the essay A Walk Down Camp Branch and several themed poems, all grounded in the rural landscape surrounding Berry's home in Port Royal, Kentucky. In these works, as in many of his others, he asks the readers to ponder their relationship to the land. He invites each of us to discover what the land requires of us. The copy I read is a reproduction of the original edition of 150 copies published by The Press at Appletree Alley, with hand set type by Jaunita Bishop, wood engravings by John DePol, designed and printed by Bernard Taylor. A facsimile cannot do justice to a work of art, which the original must be.

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is divided into three sections. The first section is a narrative which really stole my heart. The two next sections are poems. My favorite poem is the first one in section two and is the same title as this book. My favorite part of the rest of the book was the last poem in section three.

Like all books of poetry, some poems really speak to me. I hear them in a way that jangles me or speaks directly to my own experience. Sometimes I read them out loud to myself because it is a richer experience.

[SaraJane · Rating 3 out of 5]

pg. 33
Woods
"I part the out thrusting branches
and come in beneath
the blessed and the blessing trees.
Though I am silent
there is singing around me.
Though I am dark
there is vision around me.
Though I am heavy
there is flight around me."

[Douglas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Poets are know for being able to notice details in the natural world the rest of us overlook. The first portion of this book is an essay displaying the author's observations about the natural world around his farm. Poems with that same perspective follow.

[Dane Barnett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sometimes a poem grabs you and makes the entire collection worth it. That was "Creation Myth" in Section 2 for me. The narrative in Section 1 was also beautiful and made me want to lace up my books and go to the woods.

[Hadlai · Rating 3 out of 5]

Continuing my quest to Enjoy Poetry. Had much the same experience with these as I did with Seamus Heaney's poems, but I will say I think my experience has been improved by the podcast Young Heretics explaining the techniques and evolutions of poets like Homer and Shakespeare.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful

[Sabra Kurth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely poems—sometimes the most familiar places lend themselves to such descriptive language.

[Brian · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of my favorite Wendell Berry books for its beauty and grace. The illustrations (wood engravings) by John DePol are exceptional complements to the words. One receives from this book a clear sense of what Berry means by a home place, becoming native to your place. You can occasionally find it for sale at eBay or Abebooks. If you find it available, buy it, read it early of a morning with a hot cup of tea, and enjoy the peace and purpose you'll find.

[Benjamin · Rating 5 out of 5]

A masterful yet simple stroll through place, season and time. Berry seems to walk us along the trails of his wooded farmland. We walk slowly, deliberately and notice the silence and bluebells.

I love his use of "passing" in "passing light" and "passing time." This little book is a slow, pleasant read - more about training the heart to see than paragraphs and sentences.

[Sunni · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this on a quiet Sunday afternoon. It teaches about patience, reverence, and love. A calming, filling read. Reading Wendell Berry is like listening to that quiet inside you that TV and life have drowned out for too long.