New Collected Poems

Berry can easily seduce a person susceptible to exquisite craftsmanship with words, hence his poetry. But that craftsmanship is also evident in his fiction and nonfiction. If you want to read about community, family, empathy, compassion, sympathy, endurance, stewardship, ethics (not "religion"), humor, and love, read Berry's Port William novels. If you are new to Berry, my suggestions would be Fidelity (short stories), The memory of Old Jack, or That distant land.