Synopsis
Now in paperback for the first time, Berry's popular collection of six interconnected stories traces his Port William characters through the Depression up to the 1950s.
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Reviews
This collection of six interrelated stories, set in the 1930s through the '70s, portrays life in back-country Kentucky and its county seat, "a dying town in the midst of a wasting country." Wheeler Catlett, the central, unifying figure, is a lawyer whose roots and sensibilities exfoliate from the soil of the surrounding farmland. He is its voice and consciousnessits collective memory; his "clients," who are also his friends, neighbors and kinfolk, provide his cast of characters. In one story, a quiet, strong, dignified farmer copes with the "great weariness" of the end of his life. In another, Catlett makes sure that a farm willed to a coldly indifferent heir remains in the hands of the tenant couple whose lifeblood has nurtured it. In a third, a youth comes quietly of age by observing other lives and sensing kindred feelings within himself. The stories are fashioned in a stately, somewhat archaic, prose quite lacking in dramatic force, partly redeemed by a deep feeling for the land and an affectionate respect for the obscure "little" people of their purview.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.
In these stories, Berry traces the history of a loosely affiliated, unofficial, fictional group of dead and living men and women, "the membership of the fields" in Port William, a community in Kentucky's tobacco country. We enter the hearts and souls of these folktheir hardships and their triumphsthrough the witnessing of Wheeler Catlett, an attorney who is a "seer of visions, not the heavenly visions of saints and mystics, but the earthly ones of a mainly practical man. . . ." Told with the same intelligence, craft, and reverence that characterize Berry's novels, essays on agriculture, and poems ( Collected Poems , LJ 4/15/85), these stories have at their core the necessity of human friendship, "the good that has been possible in the world . . . the good that is desirable in it." Highly recommended. Thom Tammaro, Multidisciplinary Studies, Moorhead, Minn.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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Search results for The wild birds: Six stories of the Port William membership
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The wild birds: Six stories of the Port William membership
Published by
North Point Press (edition First Edition), 1986
ISBN 10: 0865472165
ISBN 13: 9780865472167
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Hardcover
First Edition
Seller: BooksRun, Philadelphia, PA, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Hardcover. Condition: Fair. First Edition. With dust jacket. The item might be beaten up but readable. May contain markings or highlighting, as well as stains, bent corners, or any other major defect, but the text is not obscured in any way. Seller Inventory # 0865472165-7-1-29
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The wild birds: Six stories of the Port William membership
Seller: World of Books (was SecondSale), Montgomery, IL, U.S.A.
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Condition: Good. Item in good condition. Textbooks may not include supplemental items i.e. CDs, access codes etc. Seller Inventory # 00101400111
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The Wild Birds
Seller: Library House Internet Sales, Grand Rapids, OH, U.S.A.
Seller rating 4 out of 5 stars
Hardcover. Condition: Good. Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good. Now in paperback for the first time, Berry's popular collection of six interconnected stories traces his Port William characters through the Depression up to the 1950s. Mylar protector included. Please note the image in this listing is a stock photo and may not match the covers of the actual item. Book. Seller Inventory # 123815461
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The wild birds: Six stories of the Port William membership
Published by
North Point Press, 1986
ISBN 10: 0865472165
ISBN 13: 9780865472167
Used
Hardcover
First Edition
Seller: All Booked Up, Louisville, KY, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Hardcover. Condition: Near Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Near Fine. 1st Edition. NF/NF 8vo, 146 pages, 1 pound FIRST EDITION. Covers show only slight war, smae for the DJ This appears unread. Seller Inventory # 30037
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The Wild Birds : Six Stories of the Port William Membership
Published by
North Point Press, San Francisco, 1986
ISBN 10: 0865472165
ISBN 13: 9780865472167
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Hardcover
Seller: Manchester By The Book, Manchester-By-the-Sea, MA, U.S.A.
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Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good. No markings. $13.95 on the front flap of the dust jacket. Seller Inventory # 40203616
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The wild birds: Six stories of the Port William membership
Published by
North Point Press, 1986
ISBN 10: 0865472165
ISBN 13: 9780865472167
Used
Hardcover
First Edition
Seller: Stock & Trade LLC, Portland, OR, U.S.A.
Seller rating 4 out of 5 stars
hardcover. Condition: Very Good. Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good. First Edition. A nice hardcover with a crisp dust jacket, a tight binding and an unmarked text. From a private smoke free collection. Shipping within 24 hours, tracking number and delivery Confirmation. Seller Inventory # DarbWC1A-712k
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WILD BIRDS: SIX STORIES OF THE PORT WILLIAM MEMBERSHIP (6).includes THICKER THAN LIQUOR; WHERE DID THEY GO?; IT WASN'T ME; BOUNDARY; THAT DISTANT LAND;
Published by
North Point Press.;.farrar, strauss & giroux 1985,1986 VERSO, NY, 1985
ISBN 10: 0865472165
ISBN 13: 9780865472167
Used
Hardcover
First Edition
Seller: WONDERFUL BOOKS BY MAIL, CHICO-CA, CA, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good. Illustrated by ANDERSON, LAURIE COVER ART (illustrator). First Edition?. VERY GOOD CONDITION IN VERY GOOD CLIPT(NOPR ICE) DUST JACKET.LONG GIFT MESSAGE EP "TO EVELYN & EUELL.IN deep apreciation.Merry Christmas Sheela, December 1986".else clean, SOLID, BRIGHT; dust jacket shows white titles on grey, yellow red window view. cover watercolor art. .GOLD SPINE TITLES ON DEEP RED CLOTH HARD COVERS. ; small town street buildings View Cover; 146pg pages; Rhythms of the novel are the rhythms of the land ."a splendid, warmhearfelt novel about countrymen.pleasure read. a novel about the citizens of Port William, Kentucky- a setting that is taking its place alongside Yoknapatawpha County, Mississippi, and Winesburg, Ohio, as one of our most distinctive and recognizable literary locales. Seller Inventory # 140632
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THE WILD BIRDS
Published by
North Point Press, 1986
ISBN 10: 0865472165
ISBN 13: 9780865472167
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Hardcover
First Edition
Seller: Columbia Books, ABAA/ILAB, MWABA, Columbia, MO, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Hardcover. Condition: Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Fine. First Edition. North Point Press, 1986. first edition. 146pp. tiny spotting upper edge of textblock, else fine hardcover, fine d/j. Seller Inventory # 114739
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Wild Birds: Six Stories of the Port William Membership.
Published by
North Point Press,, San Francisco:, 1986
ISBN 10: 0865472165
ISBN 13: 9780865472167
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First Edition
Seller: Grendel Books, ABAA/ILAB, Springfield, MA, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Hardcover. Condition: Near Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good. First edition. Near fine in a very good (light age toning to flaps and rear panel) dust jacket. ; 146 pages. Seller Inventory # 31429
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The wild birds: Six stories of the Port William membership
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Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. Connecting readers with great books since 1972! Used books may not include companion materials, and may have some shelf wear or limited writing. We ship orders daily and Customer Service is our top priority! Seller Inventory # S_469510251