A Timbered Choir: The Sabbath Poems 1979-1997

This book is appropriately subtitled, "The Sabbath Poems 1979-1997." For that is what this volume contains: the meditations and response of a poet taking time apart from the rush of the day to reflect on his place in the world, the value of work, loving relationships, and the unmerited blessing he enjoys.As a farmer living in rural Kentucky, Wendell Berry maintains a vital connection with the earth and its creatures. He recognizes the cycle of life and death, not as an interruption, but a natural passing into renewed existence. These Sabbath poems read like contemporary wisdom literature (written in everyday language) in the vein of Job, Ecclesiastes, Psalms, Proverbs, and Song of Solomon.For my part as a city dweller, I was refreshed by Berry's pastoral perspective. These poems can be read one-a-day, almost like a devotional giving pause for reflection; or they can be read equally well in chunks, to gain a sense of the ebb and flow within a year of life experience. His sensitivity to the sound of words guarantees musicality and internal echoes, even in the poems which don't have obvious end-rhymes.In modern American society -- characterized by busyness, creative destruction, modernization, and instant gratification -- this kind of poetry is necessary, like salt. To preserve that which is good, to enhance the simple pleasures, and to wake up those who are half asleep.Buy a copy for yourself, and savor it for weeks or months. Then buy a copy for someone you care about. They'll deeply thank you.

wonderful stuff. Birds. Walking. Silence. The most bland and basic of inspiration yields truly deep and gorgeous poetry.The poems are short, yet deep, sticking with you long after you put the book down and go out for a walk in the woods to seek the same inspiration.

I can't recall the number of copies of this book that I have purchased. My own autographed copy remains a constant on my bedside table, doggeared, starred, and underlined. It is filled with the lovely, quiet poems of Wendell Berry, a true genius in the crafting of words. These poems, compiled over many years of Sunday walks (thus the Sabbath Poems), harken to the quieter side of life. The inevitable changing of seasons, places, and people. We all need a little space for thinking. Berry reminds us of who we are and why we're here. In a quiet way. Buy this book for yourself. Then order more copies for your friends.

I love his descriptions of even the "mundane." I have 2 other books by WB, too ... and love them, too. I consider him sorta kinda like a "modern day" Robert Frost, without the same rhyming and cadence. I've actually had to even read some of these poems out loud to my family.

The poems in A Timbered Choir touch the heart and challenge the inner vision of the reader. The observations and insights about nature, man and spirit, gathered on his Sunday morning walks, are expressed in poems that make the reader feel like a part of the experience. My copy of this book will always be close at hand.

This book was exactly as described and came far more quickly than I'd expected.

If you have not read much poetry and need to slow down, create some space for reflection, and consider sabbath, a good place to start is with this book of poems.

Most poetry sucks. This doesn't.

Hugely enjoyable – a wonderful set of writings, from a most accomplished author.