In A Countryman's Journal, originally published in 1981, author Roy
Barrette describes life on his small coastal Maine farm. Equipped with a
few barnyard animals, a library full of his favorite literature, and an
abundance of home-grown produce, Amen Farm in Brooklin gave Barrette the
fuel to create thoughtful and evocative weekly essays out of his
everyday life for his local newspaper, The Ellsworth American. Through
his appreciation of the old New England country--from canning his own
vegetables and steaming fresh clams to taking walks with his spaniel and
aiding in the birth of new calves--Barrette creates a world apart from
the regimentation of urban living. After departing from city life
himself in 1958, Barrette spent time digging clams, making jam, and
taking in the Maine countryside. A Countryman's Journal, a collection
of his weekly columns, serves as his love letter to these simple
pleasures.