For more than two decades, Wendell Berry has spent his Sunday mornings in a kind of walking meditation, observing the world and writing poems. A sm...
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Jul 20, 2010
Heather
rated it: 
One I will keep in my heart always.
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Leslie Norris said he wished he could write a Sabbath poem akin to Berry. Hear, hear! Heart and soul and earth and sky words to be savored under blankets of stars, smell of pine, babbling of brook and feel of red rock warmth. Oh so pretty and oh so keen personal journey of all the soul faces in surrendering to simplicity as well as cultural commentary on how the west was "won". Decades of inspiration and change one Sunday at a t More...
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Leslie Norris said he wished he could write a Sabbath poem akin to Berry. Hear, hear! Heart and soul and earth and sky words to be savored under blankets of stars, smell of pine, babbling of brook and feel of red rock warmth. Oh so pretty and oh so keen personal journey of all the soul faces in surrendering to simplicity as well as cultural commentary on how the west was "won". Decades of inspiration and change one Sunday at a t More...
Jul 22, 2010
Heidi
rated it: 
I don't always "get" poetry, but many of these spoke to me. Here is one that I read over and over again:
Whatever is foreseen in joy
Must be lived out from day to day.
Vision held open in the dark
By our ten thousand days of work.
Harvest will fill the barn; for that
The hand must ache, the face must sweat.
And yet no leaf or grain is filled
By work of ours; the field is tilled
And left to grace. That we may reap,
Great wor More...
Whatever is foreseen in joy
Must be lived out from day to day.
Vision held open in the dark
By our ten thousand days of work.
Harvest will fill the barn; for that
The hand must ache, the face must sweat.
And yet no leaf or grain is filled
By work of ours; the field is tilled
And left to grace. That we may reap,
Great wor More...
May 29, 2011
Vasha7
rated it:
Certainly very Christian, these meditations, and optimistic. It seems that although the poet is aware of having fallen, he does not feel completely cut off from the "light" (a constantly recurring image, though in at least one poem, shadow is healing too). Sometimes he speaks as if the whole world is fallen (a concept I've always found ridiculous) and sometimes just humankind. However little the themes relate to me, it's excellent poetry, crisp and vivid.
Jan 27, 2010
Shannon
rated it:
A gift from Hilary. Really...a gift from Hilary to Brian but I'm married to him, and we live together so really it's a gift for me too.
A book of poems that Wendell Berry wrote about how he experiences God outside. The Sabbath poems.
"The mind that comes to rest is tended
In ways that it cannot intend:
Is borne, preserved, and comprehended
By what it cannot comprehend."
A book of poems that Wendell Berry wrote about how he experiences God outside. The Sabbath poems.
"The mind that comes to rest is tended
In ways that it cannot intend:
Is borne, preserved, and comprehended
By what it cannot comprehend."
Jan 20, 2012
Paul
rated it:
Timbered Choir usually comes along with me on retreats and road trips, good for pulling out sitting in the snow or along a harvested field in the Fall. My brain doesn't seem wired to get lots of poetry, but Berry's poems are so rooted to the earth and relationships that they take hold for me. Like a good friend.
Apr 05, 2007
Josh
rated it:
I first discovered Wendell Berry when as an undergraduate at Southeastern University I recieved his poem "How to Be A Poet (to remind myself)" in my school mailbox as a gift from my advisor's wife, as I had recently presented Billy Collins to her freshmen composistion class. The poem has been on my bathroom mirror ever since, reminding me every morning of the virtues of silence, meditation, tranquility, and being present to ones surroundings. His poems seem to reflect his quest to prac
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Jun 13, 2011
Dana
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Beautiful. Love Wendell Berry and I love this particular collection of poems. Meditative. Reflective. Quiet. Very connected to the earth. Very spiritual.
Dec 03, 2011
Jessica
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The opening poem, 'I go among trees and sit still' is among my favourite poems of all time. Great collection.
Jan 14, 2010
Chris
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i love these poems. I usually don't wait for Sunday to roll around to read a couple, either.
Apr 15, 2008
Jeffery
rated it:
A searching, reverent, rooted book of Berry's Sunday-morning poems. Soul food. Doesn't just turn your gaze upward--his poems show a God who is intimately present and involved in the world around us. Some of the prominent themes include the greatness of God's providence, Christ-patterns in nature, the unshakable joy that comes from good work and good community, and the virtues of solitude.
Aug 30, 2007
Emily
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Berry's Sabbath poems reveal what I would imagine a Sabbath should be. It reminds me of the idea that "Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath." Why shouldn't we just take a walk every Sunday and let nature reveal God to us? Is there a higher form of worship than to just pay attention to who God is by paying attention to what he created?
Mar 07, 2008
Al
rated it:
Thank you Mr. Berry. Thank you for your insight, your forethought, and genuine look at life and what is important and what shouldn't be important. I really enjoyed 1989. This collection is a must for everyone. Read, meditate, reread, and then put it down and enjoy the quietness of life. Read and enjoy.
Dec 17, 2009
Shraddha
rated it:
A wonderful collection of poems. Berry connects you to his meditative observations of the natural world with a beautiful hand. As you read each one evaluate it against what our world is doing to the earth. Keep in mind the havoc of industrialization and your own attitude towards what you find beautiful in nature.
Apr 02, 2011
Sunni
rated it:
As always, some poems feel stronger than others, but an incredible collection of meaningful, contemplative and celebratory poems. Never showy or casual. Reading it gets you acquainted with a man who loves life and God, reflects on the meaning of both regularly, and lives in perpetual hope.
Sep 20, 2007
Caris
rated it:
Just a favorite quote:
"The mind that comes to rest is tended in ways it cannot intend; Is borne, preserved, and comprehended by what it cannot comprehend. Your Sabbath, Lord, thus keeps us by your will, not ours. And it is fit Our only choice should be to die Into that rest, or out of it."
"The mind that comes to rest is tended in ways it cannot intend; Is borne, preserved, and comprehended by what it cannot comprehend. Your Sabbath, Lord, thus keeps us by your will, not ours. And it is fit Our only choice should be to die Into that rest, or out of it."
Oct 29, 2007
Catherine
rated it:
i am so so sad that it took me so long to even have heard of this book! there isn't a bad one, and the poem to his wife of their 20th anniversary is beautiful.
Jun 07, 2011
Zachary
rated it:
Wendell Berry is a modern day prophet. He speaks truth about nature and God into the day to day lives of modern people who have largely forgotten such things.
Mar 18, 2010
Matthew
rated it:
Lovely. aesthetically simple; disarmingly unaffected. As though cutting to the quick of all that lies in work, and heart, and soul.
Aug 31, 2009
Joel
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I like to immerse myself in his poems, that I can absorb his thoughts, find beauty and truth, and learn some of his wisdom.
Jan 25, 2010
Matt
rated it: 
Poetry from a man of faith with an appreciation for the agrarian lifestyle.
I try to read one every Sunday.
I try to read one every Sunday.
Aug 21, 2008
Suzanne
rated it:
salt of the earth, spirit of the sky
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