Small Rain

by Barbara Crooker

Barbara Crooker's sixth collection of poetry, Small Rain, is an exploration of the wheel of the year, the seasons that roll in a continuous circle and yet move inexorably forward. Here, gorgeous lyric poems praise poppies, mockingbirds, nectarines, mulch and compost, yet loss (stillbirth, cancer, emphysema), with its crow-black wings, is also always present. In poems that narrow in on the particular ("a cardinal twangs his notes of cheer; he has no truck with irony and post- / modernism"), poems that focus on aging and the body ("how many springs are left on my ticket?"), poems that open out into the larger world of politics, war, global climate change, Crooker's work embodies Wendell Berry's words, "Be joyful, though you have considered all the facts," reminding us that sometimes we need to stop in wonder, look at the natural world, which we are close to ruining forever, and let "our mouths say o and o and o."

Genres: Poetry

76 pages, Paperback

First published December 29, 2014

About the author

Barbara Crooker's books are Radiance, which won the 2005 Word Press First Book competition and was a finalist for the 2006 Paterson Poetry Prize; Line Dance, (Word Press 2008), which won the 2009 Paterson Award for Literary Excellence; and More (C & R Press, 2010). "

Reviews

[Jason · Rating 4 out of 5]

This lovely poetry collection, focused on flowers, birds, and the natural, is organized into seasons. Beautiful poems address aging, friendship, loss, family, and even writing. (Meta!)

Rarely would I comment on the size of a book, but I have to say this book's dimensions shocked me when I pulled it out of its package. It's about 1.5-2 inches wider and taller than a typical poetry book. At first glance, I assumed the poems inside would have longer lines than usual or perhaps have a large of amount of lines to warrant its height. But no! The vast majority of the poems have short lines, and none of the poems have a large number of lines. As such, the pages are consumed with glaring white space, which could have held photographs of the various flora Crooker describes. Of all the poetry books I've read, this is the one that could have most benefited from having photography paired with the poems.

Favorites:
It's Monday Morning,
Summer, 2010
Taking Down the Locust
Building a Compost Pile
Weeds
Dark Wings
Seeds
After the Holidays,

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

The natural world produces emotions in me that I cannot express with language. How wonderful that a poet like Barbara Crooker CAN! It's so satisfying, and when I read her words I think, yes, yes - that's it! Hallelujah!