Notes from the Henhouse: On Marrying a Poet, Raising Children and Chickens, and Writing

By: Elspeth Barker

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Synopsis: A sharp and witty collection of autobiographical essays by the late Elspeth Barker—acclaimed journalist and author of the beloved modern classic O Caledonia.Following the publication of her acclaimed, darkly funny novel O Caledonia, Elspeth Barker&’s sharp and witty essays appeared regularly in the national press. Notes from the Henhouse, a selection of the most personal of these pieces, welcomes readers into the celebrated writer&’s life. Tracing Barker&’s upbringing from her Scottish roots, these essays beautifully capture her time with the poet George Barker and her profound sense of loss following his death. She writes about George&’s former lover Elizabeth Smart and other figures from 1950s bohemia and 1960s counterculture. Pieces like &“Thoughts in a Garden,&” equal parts hilarious and moving, read like dispatches from the front lines of country living, depicting the vagaries of raising a large family and assorted pets in a damp and drafty farmhouse. Vivid, charming, and wholly original, Notes from the Henhouse is a wonderful glimpse into the life of an extraordinary writer.