Window Poems

by Wendell Berry, James Baker Hall (Foreword by), Wesley W. Bates (Illustrator)

Since 1979, Wendell Berry has taken a walk almost every Sunday. Often on these walks of meditation and reflection, he finds himself making notes for poems. Some years he has accomplished as many as fifteen or twenty poems from those walks, while in other years only half a dozen. The resultant work has been published in collections of Sabbath Poems, a precursor to which was The Window Poems.

The Window Poems were composed while Berry looked out of the multi-paned window of his writing studio, “The Long-Legged House.” The house is near the renovated farmhouse where Berry and his wife raised their children and continue to live. These poems contemplate Berry's personal life as much as they ponder the seasons he witnesses through the window. This beautiful book was first designed, composed, and printed on a Washington handpress by Bob Barris, at the Press on Scroll Road, with wood engravings by Wesley Bates. Including an introduction by James Baker Hall, this early sequence of poems signals and celebrates the groundwork of Berry's life.

Genres: Poetry, Nature

80 pages, Hardcover

First published March 13, 2007

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

[Northpapers · Rating 3 out of 5]

The opening essay is a wonderful glimpse of a young Wendell Berry, and the poems do a good job of showing a young man looking out hopefully at a world that would challenge and grow him during the years to follow.

I don't think these are anywhere near the fully-formed poems Berry would go on to write, but I enjoyed seeing him turn his eye and pen around and around, to see what he could see.

[Brian Tucker · Rating 5 out of 5]

It doesn't get any better than poetry written by Berry!

[emma cheaney · Rating 5 out of 5]

i can’t stop crying

[Trevor Cumpston]

Window Berry 🪟🪟🪟🪟🪟

[Maughn Gregory · Rating 4 out of 5]

Of birds, the "vertical geography" of his farmhouse, he writes: "He imagines / a necessary joy / in things that must fly / to eat." Of Vietnam, he writes: "Abroad / we burn and maim / in the name of principles / we no longer recognize in acts." For all living things, he writes: "Peace to the bones / that walk in the sun and toward death, / for they will come to it soon enough."

[Eugene · Rating 3 out of 5]

Early poems of Berry's. These are not my favorites. His more lyric voice is not present here. There are a few places that appeal to me, but the tone is a bit strident or polemic; at least to this untrained ear.

[Emmaline Scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️

I wanted to like this more than I did. My brother loves Wendell Berry, so I thought I would give it a try.

Most of the poems I did like, mildly, but did not love. I think there were enough that were interesting and appealing to me that I’m curious about more of his works. I may try some of his essays instead, next time.

I read them all aloud and found some of them to be slightly difficult to read aloud. Could have just been me, but part of why I love poetry is how it comes alive when you read it aloud. I kept stuttering over parts that didn’t seem to flow how I thought it would. Perhaps that was the point, as sometimes it is, or perhaps I was out of practice with reading aloud, or perhaps it just wasn’t for me.

I liked the foreword by James Baker Hall and felt as if it gave appropriate context, not only to Window Poems, but also to any other works of Berry that I may read.

My favorite/most liked of the poems were: #5, #7, #11, #12 (the second coming of the trees!!!), #18 #19, and #20.

I liked the general structure of the poems, how they fit together, and the interesting perspective of the man through the window.

[Jose Roque Perez-Zetune]

“Out his window this morning / he saw nine ducks in flight, / and a hawk dive at his mate / in delight.
The day stands apart / from the calendar. There is a will / that receives it as enough. / He is given a fragment of time / in this fragment of the world. / He likes it pretty well.”
shoot me why don’t u

[RyReads · Rating 4 out of 5]

Written during the Vietnam war, Berry's poems in this collection are about what's happening outside his window both figuratively and literally during the passing seasons. A call for peace that I found very emotional

[Gage Beverly · Rating 5 out of 5]

This may have been my favorite book of the year. Berry is almost Tolkien-esque in his wariness of industrialization—both in it’s affect on man’s relationship with nature and one-another. I’ve never felt such a strong compulsion to go live in the woods.

[Beth Bissmeyer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some gems of lines in his work, per usual. (The 3 stars is just how it hit me today, though I’m sure some chunks would land higher for me taken on their own).

[Blair · Rating 3 out of 5]

A making sense of the world through a deep attunement with the rhythms of nature. Wendell Berry’s humble and awe-filled looking is comforting to be with.

[Ron Mohring · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book itself is a gorgeous physical object, and I enjoyed reading the poetic introduction as much as these early poems.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautifully illustrated slender book containing one long thoughtfully written poem about a man, his home, his country and the enfolding of nature around it all…..

[Catania Larson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful art, beautiful introduction, and beautiful poetry.

[Mason Unrau · Rating 5 out of 5]

A thoughtful and indwelled collection of poems.

[Marvin Brauer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I believe I have read this book four or five times. So beautiful in the writing and the handset printing.

[Sanjuro · Rating 5 out of 5]

Berry, one of the better American poets working over the past few decades, writes these poems while sitting at his writing desk and staring out of his window. The poems are insightful, and the wood carvings that go along with them add to the aesthetics of the collection. I just read these poems for the second time, having read them initially about 7 years ago, and I was much more impressed with them this time, especially numbers 10-15. My first reading was superficial, seeing these poems as reflections upon the natural world, but there is a genuine angst in these poems, and real concern for the future we're leaving to our children. Berry was decades ahead of us regarding climate disaster and the ways that we're wreaking havoc on the natural world and these poems pull back the curtain on Berry's concerns. An excellent collection.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love Wendell Berry's writing (although I favor his essays more,) but I'm not in the mood for poetry right now so this felt like a chore. In other words, this review is just to remind me I read it, and not really for you to take anything away from. Sorry.

I think even non-poetry readers would enjoy this slim volume of related poems. The imagery is lovely. The symbolism and duality is broad, but not obscure. It's the kind of poetry that calls out to be picked up on the spur of the moment - whatever random page falls open is the one to read; an act of meditation.

I wish the woodcuts (Wesley Bates) were bigger - they are stunning - but otherwise, nice book production.

[Cheri · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are indeed beautiful images and contemplations in this book, but compared to other Berry work I have read, this didn't really stand up for me. Reads more like a book of short observations and thoughts than poems, persay -- at least, in what I usually feel is a poetic expression. Very basic language, which is the most surprising aspect of this collection. Perhaps a little too self referential as well as overly contemplative of a rather uninteresting window.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

A spare collection lovingly reprinted by Counterpoint, early Wendell Berry writing about the window of his writing space, writing about writing, and writing about the seasons changing through that grid. Not what I would give to someone who wants to know what all the fuss is about, but it does have some great passages, like
"What he has understood
lies behind him
like a road in the woods. He is
a wilderness looking out
at the wild."

[Joel · Rating 4 out of 5]

My parents gave me a Wendell Berry Christmas this year so I am enjoying reading some of his nonfiction like this book of poetry. These were written in his log cabin on the river in Kentucky. He reflects on the seasons and other nature themes as he looks out the cabin window. I like that the poems within the book are connected and yet stand alone.

[Casey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Look. In the wild. Little shapes of the mind. Seeing into days to come. The mind must bend. To remember. He sings to what is sleeping. He sits in the woods watched by more than he sees. It holds his mind. Won't let it rest. Now. The green rises. A form of consciousness. Wendell's window. He looks and walks. Manly. Into a new day. He. Is a wilderness. Looking out. Waiting.

[Jenni Simmons · Rating 5 out of 5]

I often look out a window while writing & reading, but in suburban Houston, it's not quite the same as what Wendell Berry described in his Window Poems. You get a glimpse of his land - and the seasons - through his lovely poetry. The wood engravings in this book are beautiful, too.

[Barbara · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is really my first experience with Wendell Berry and I loved it! I love the idea of his window poems; i love the setting of his window poems. It reminded me of the window in the cabin in Wyoming that looks out across the landscape and sky.

[Tony · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as rich a read as Berry can provide, but this edition (this one has a Shoemaker & Hoard imprint and is "based on the fine press edition by the Press on Scroll Road") shows how care and artistry in book production can enhance the text--you can feel that somebody cares.

[Tara Tetzlaff · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautiful simplicity in this collection written from the view through the window of his studio. Although I prefer his later works t is interesting to read these early poems in light of the more thought-provoking writing he would go on to publish over his long career.

[Tina M · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eloquent

[Deborah · Rating 5 out of 5]

As always Wendell Berry satisfies!

[Kaycee Owens · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lovely.