In this Book
- Winter Sky: New and Selected Poems, 1968-2008
- Book
- 2008
- Published by: University of Georgia Press
Barks's open-hearted, free verse poetry is infused with a joy of the spirit at play with the forms of the world. His journey through life is deeply embedded in his work. The poems spring directly from experience and engage with subjects such as the elation and struggle of having and raising children, grief over the deaths of loved ones, the transition from parent to grandparent, or the changing nature and intensity of desire. Barks's open letter to President Bush, written days before the invasion of Iraq and widely circulated online, is a poetic plea for peace, offering a startling and moving alternative to war.
Whether it is the childhood excitement of being named best athlete at summer camp or the early signs of dementia at the age of seventy, Barks uses the personal to convey the universal. The unique flow of a life is here in poems that are rueful, confused, torn, and grateful, but always informed by Barks's transcendent sense of joy and playfulness.
Table of Contents
- Acknowledgments
- pp. xiii-xiv
- Notes in Lieu of Preface
- pp. xv-xviii
- 2003 – 2008 NEW POEMS
- The Center
- pp. 3-5
- Extravagance
- pp. 6-7
- As the Dew
- p. 9
- FROM SCRAP WOOD MAN (2007)
- Reading in Bed
- p. 18
- From Notebooks
- p. 19
- Wine Poems
- pp. 20-21
- These Winter Skies
- p. 25
- Just This Once
- pp. 33-37
- 1978–2002 FROM TENTMAKING (2002)
- Tentmaking
- pp. 45-48
- Divination
- p. 50
- Black Rubber Ball
- pp. 55-56
- Luke and the Duct Tape
- pp. 58-61
- Spring Morning
- p. 64
- Light on Leaves
- p. 65
- Abscission Leaf, Looking into Water
- pp. 69-70
- Silo, Spring Violets
- p. 71
- The Final Final
- pp. 72-73
- Currycombing
- pp. 74-75
- Donald Hall Is Falling Down
- pp. 76-77
- The Animal
- p. 78
- So Close, Not a Foot
- p. 79
- Love for Clouds
- p. 80
- 1971 and 1942
- pp. 81-84
- None Other
- p. 85
- Lard Gourd
- pp. 89-90
- The Railing
- p. 91
- What We Learn from Literature
- pp. 92-93
- These Very Feet
- p. 94
- Fine Arts Auditorium
- pp. 99-100
- Night Train, Southern France
- pp. 101-102
- Driving Back from the Mountains
- pp. 104-105
- Elegy for John Seawright
- pp. 107-112
- FROM CLUB: GRAND DAUGHTER POEMS (2001)
- To Make an Ocean
- pp. 118-119
- Dumb Chess
- p. 124
- Poetry for Children
- pp. 127-130
- FROM GOURD SEED (1993)
- Buttermilk
- p. 135
- Higdon Cove
- p. 137
- The Great Blue Heron
- pp. 138-140
- In the Woods, You and I
- pp. 141-142
- Fried Green Tomato Sandwiches
- pp. 143-144
- Bedclothes
- pp. 146-147
- Titty-Bream
- pp. 148-149
- Summer Food
- pp. 150-151
- The Wind Today
- p. 154
- Orange Circles on Lavender Wings
- pp. 155-156
- Let the Door Be Locked
- pp. 157-158
- Hymenoptera
- pp. 159-160
- Some Orange Juice
- p. 161
- Each Peach
- pp. 168-169
- Spring Lizards
- p. 176
- The Grocery Store
- pp. 177-178
- Vigil Notes
- pp. 179-180
- New Year’s Day Nap
- pp. 181-185
- Darshan Singh and Christian Harmony
- pp. 186-187
- Small Talk: Coffee
- pp. 188-189
- The Second Mike Poem
- pp. 190-191
- Every Evening
- pp. 193-194
- The End of the Sentence
- pp. 195-198
- The Fucking Grave
- pp. 198-200
- Becoming Milton
- pp. 204-205
- Two-Hour Wait in Toronto
- pp. 206-214
- Night Creek
- pp. 215-218
- An Up-Till-Now-Uncelebrated Joy
- pp. 219-220
- These Things, Hereafter
- pp. 221-223
- The Brain-House
- pp. 226-227
- Carolina Silverbells
- pp. 228-229
- Fightingtown Creek
- pp. 230-231
- A Hard-Cuss for Gourd Seed
- pp. 233-234
- 1967–1977 FROM WE’RE LAUGHING AT THE DAMAGE (1977)
- Good night.
- p. 237
- A flame is walking
- p. 240
- This is how we’d like
- p. 241
- FROM NEW WORDS (1976)
- Sunbath in May
- pp. 247-248
- The Last Rebirth
- pp. 249-250
- The Hall Mirror
- pp. 251-252
- FROM THE JUICE (1972)
- Body Poems
- pp. 267-283
- Goat & Boy
- p. 286
- Five Ways Down Stringer’s Ridge
- pp. 287-290
- The Literal Snake
- p. 291
- The Afterlife
- pp. 292-294
- The Oracle
- pp. 295-296
- Nickajack Cave
- pp. 297-298
- The Finger of Necessity
- p. 299
- The African Night Adder
- p. 301
- The Flag Page
- pp. 302-304
- Taking a Nap Underneath My Desk
- pp. 305-307