In 1980 Barrett published the book, "Myself Emerging," consisting primarily of selections of his poetry interspersed with photographs of his sculpture. The book is prefaced with the statement, "With age, my development as a man, and perhaps as a poet, seems to have accelerated. Feelings are more intense and, becoming more open. I receive their full impact, whether joy or pain. Nor do I feel the need to justify or make them consistent." An intensely personal side of Barrett is revealed in his early poems. "First Love" (1927) finds him longing to be "crushed beneath a last caress of your all too-powerful hand", while in "Lonely One", written during World War II, the author wants to grieve, but is restrained from doing so by those who dictate "KEEP A STIFF UPPER LIP AND DON'T GIVE WAY! DON'T FEEL DON'T THINK DON'T BROOD DON'T BE."