In the following essay, Warren informs the reader that he wanted the story to tell about the effect of time in bringing harsh change and loss to human relationships but also to show that one can still recognize human qualities in the struggle.

I once wrote a story called "Blackberry Winter." It has the form of a recollection, many years after the events narrated, by a fictional first person. On a June morning, a young boy on a farm in Tennessee is being prevented by his mother from going barefoot because a gullywasher the night before makes the morning unseasonably cold. As they argue, they see a tramp, a citified tramp, coming up the lane, and wonder how he ever got back there in the river woods. The mother gives the tramp some work. The boy goes off to explore the damage and excitement of the storm...