Essayist, social critic, poet, "mad farmer," novelist,
teacher, and prophet: Wendell Berry has been called many
things, but the broad sweep of his contemporary relevance
and influence defies facile labels. With his unique
perspective and far-reaching vision, Berry poses complex
questions about humankind and our relationship to the land
and offers simple but profound solutions. Berry's essays,
novels, and poems give voice to a provocative but consistent
philosophy, one that extends far beyond its agrarian core to
include elements of sociology, the natural sciences,
politics, religion, philosophy, linguistics, agriculture,
and other seemingly incompatible fields of study. Wendell
Berry: Life and Work examines this wise and original
thinker, appraising his written work and exploring his
influence as an activist and artist.
Jason Peters has
assembled a broad variety of writers including Hayden
Carruth, Sven Birkerts, Barbara Kingsolver, Stanley
Hauerwas, Donald Hall, Ed McClanahan, Bill McKibben, Scott
Russell Sanders, Norman Wirzba, Wes Jackson, and Eric T.
Freyfogle. Each contributor examines an aspect of Berry's
varied yet cohesive body of work. Also included are highly
personal glimpses of Wendell Berry: his career, academic
influence, and unconventional lifestyle.
These deft
sketches of Berry show the purity of his agrarian lifestyle
and demonstrate that there is nothing simple about the life
to which he has devoted himself. He embraces a life that
sustains him not by easy purchase and haste but by physical
labor and patience, not by mindless acquiescence to a
centralized economy but by careful attention to local ways
and wisdom.
Wendell Berry: Life and Work combines
biographical sketches, personal accounts, literary
criticism, and social commentary. Together, the contributors
illuminate Berry as he is: a complex man of place and
community with an astonishing depth of domestic,
intellectual, filial, and fraternal attributes. The result
is a rich portrait of one of America's most profound and
honest thinkers.
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