The Complete Poems

"Spanning four decades of a life well-lived, Wendy Barker's poems convey her encounters with the natural world, her reactions to contemporary social problems, and her experiences in high school and college classrooms. Adored by her students, many of whom became published poets themselves, Barker crafted verse that often recreated her presence in the classroom and her engagement with questions of identity, ethics, and the value of literature. Organized chronologically, the volume enables readers to marvel at the growth of a singular sensibility attentive to the joys of love and the anguish of mortality. Edited by her husband, Steven G. Kellman, and featuring an introduction by the scholar and translator Ilan Stavans, Wendy Barker's Complete Poems presents the life's work of a steadily productive, brilliant poet and beloved teacher"--