The Port William series by Wendell Berry is a fiction series loved by many readers.
Wendell Berry was born in 1934 in Port Royal, Kentucky. He is a poet, novelist, farmer, and nature writer.
Wendell Berry has been writing books for over fifty years. He has written over fifty books. Many of them are nonfiction, but he is probably best known for his poetry and the Port William books.
Wendell Berry’s Port William series includes thirteen books, including novels and several books of short stories.
Port William is a fictional town in Kentucky, but it is based on the area of Kentucky where Wendell Berry has spent his life.
William Berry’s Port William books are comfort reads for me. They are slow reads where not a lot happens, but at the same time, so much happens.
Port William is a rural farming community where your friends become your family. These books follow families over the years and generations through the ups and downs of life.
These books read more like real life to me than they do fiction. They feel like real stories because the things that happen in the books are similar to what so many families have gone through over the generations.
I would put these in a similar category to the Mitford books by Jan Karon. If you like Mitford, I think you will like the Port William books. And if you like Wendell Berry Port William books, but haven’t read the Mitford books, you should give them a try.
I love to read before going to bed, but I don’t like to read an action packed book or a nonfiction book that gets my mind going. For me, the Port William books make great before-bed reading. Not because they are boring, but because they are comforting for me. I can sink into them and lose myself in the world of Port William.
William Berry Port William Books
Nathan Coulter was published in 1960. It is the story of a family and a family farm. It is a story of life, death, grief, hardship, and more. It is under two hundred pages, so it is a quick read.
A Place on Earth was published in 1967. Set in Port William during WWII, we meet some of our favorite characters, including Jaber Crow, Hannah, and the Burleys. I own this one, but have not read it yet.
The Memory of Old Jack was published in 1974. It is the third book in the Port William series. Old Jack, born just after the Civil War, spends a day remembering his life in Port William.
I am currently reading this one. It has been my bedtime reading, and I am loving it. This is precisely the type of book that I love to read at night.
The Wild Birds was published in 1986. The Wild Birds contains six stories about the Port William Membership. This is another one that I own but have not read.
Remembering was published in 1988. In Remembering Andy Catlett, Andy remembers Kentucky and the people and places he loves.
A World Lost was published in 1996. In A World Lost, Andy Catlett remembers being nine years old in the summer of 1944.
Jayber Crow was published in 2000. Jayber Crow is a barber in Port William. This book is about his life from WWI to the 1960s. It follows his life and those around him. It shares the story of a community and how it changes and yet also stays the same over the years. It is one of my favorite Wendell Berry books.
Hannah Coulter was published in 2004. This is the seventh book in the series. This was the first book I read by Wendell Berry, and it made me fall in love with his writing and storytelling.
In the book, Hannah Coulter looks back on her life on the land and the community that she loves. This book read more like a real family story than a fictional one, which is why I loved it so much.
This is the book I almost always recommend someone start with when reading Wendell Berry.
That Distant Land was published in 2005. This is another book of stories of The Port William Membership. This book contains twenty-three stories.
Andy Catlett was published in 2006. This book is nine-year-old Andy Catlett’s story of his Christmas trip to visit his grandparents in Port Williams. This is the second Port William book that I read, and I loved it.
A Place in Time was published in 2012. Another book of stories of The Port William Membership. This book contains twenty stories.
How It Went was published in 2022. It contains thirteen more stories of The Port William Membership.
Marce Catlett was published in 2025. This is the latest book in The Port William series. In it, Andy Catlett tells his children and grandchildren about his grandfather, Marce Catlett.
Have you read Wendell Berry? Which book is your favorite?