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Wendell Berry

Wendell Berry was born in Henry County, Kentucky, on August 5, 1934. His father, John M. Berry was a lawyer and tobacco farmer; his mother, Virginia, was the daughter of tobacco growers. The families of both Berry’s

Before Dark

by Wendell Berry (b. 1934)

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15

From the porch at dusk I watched

a kingfisher wild in flight

he could only have made for joy.

He came down the river, splashing

against the water’s dimming face

like a skipped rock, passing

on down out of sight. And still
I could hear the splashes
farther and farther away

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Poets Book of Days

August 5

Dudley Randall died, 2000

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Poetry Trivia

Question:

What jazz saxophonist's free-form bop style of playing was a major inspiration for the free-form writing of the Beat poets?

Answer

Charlie Parker. Jack Kerouac considered him "as important as Beethoven."

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