Margaret Barkley

Ribs Margaret Barkley

Whether Margaret Barkley is remembering, reflecting, lamenting or celebrating, the poems in her chapbook, Ribs, express a life acutely observed. "She doesn't mind waiting like a new winter fox with taut muscles at the edge of a rabbit hole." These are poems that tell the truth as she fearlessly investigates the profound predicament of being a fully alive human.

-Les Bernstein, Author




Margaret Barkley's poems are rich in what it means to be human, with specific individuals and elements from the natural world emerging not only as definitive as an artist's rendition, but by her magic, elevated to the universal. Margaret takes every personal experience and puts it into a new perspective in her poetic world. We, her readers, are the richer for it.

-Fran Claggett-Holland, Poet, Teacher, Educational Consultant,

Author of four books of poems plus, many books on teaching literature

and writing, Founder of The Poetry Collective




Margaret Barkley's poetry, always accessible, ranges from the mundane to the sacred. She does not shrink from truth-even when raw-exploring the predicament of living in a body. Her words startle, driving the reader ever deeper. She is, simply, my favorite poet.

-Skye Blaine