WENDELL BERRY
Wendell Berry (1934 - present and going strong, we hope) holds a special place here at Whistlestop. For years we have enjoyed the experience of customers coming in and asking tentatively if we had any Wendell Berry, to which we answer confidently, "what area of his writings are you seeking? Essays, novels, or poetry?" We stock almost all we can (and we can order what little is missing). Berry is a clear strong voice for remembering your roots, thinking clearly and calmly in times of stress and danger, and living truly in relation to your family, your community, and your conscience. He articulates the philosophical and practical advantages of living locally (know local, eat local, shop local, read global). In our quest to fashion our website to be like our store, we thought it necessary to provide a special place for Wendell Berry.
New Collected Poems
New Collected Poems
In "New Collected Poems," the poet revisits for the first time his immensely popular Collected Poems, which "The New York Times Book Review" described as "a straightforward search for a life connected to the soil, for marriage as a sacrament and family life" that "affirms a style that is resonant with the authentic," and "[returns] American poetry to a Wordsworthian clarity of purpose."
In "New Collected Poems," Berry reprints the nearly two hundred pieces in "Collected Poems," along with the poems from his most recent collections--"Entries," "Given," and "Leavings"--to create an expanded collection, showcasing the work of a man heralded by "The Baltimore Sun" as "a sophisticated, philosophical poet in the line descending from Emerson and Thoreau . . . a major poet of our time."
Wendell Berry is the author of over fifty works of poetry, fiction, and nonfiction, and has been awarded numerous literary prizes, including the T. S. Eliot Award, a National Institute of Arts and Letters award for writing, the American Academy of Arts and Letters Jean Stein Award, and a Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship. While he began publishing work in the 1960s, "Booklist" has written that "Berry has become ever more prophetic," clearly standing up to the test of time.