Last night I went to a book signing in Salt Lake for one of my favorite authors of all time, Wendell Berry. Learn more about him by clicking here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wendell_Berry
I'm not a book reviewer of any kind, but let me pretend for a moment that my opinion matters, and tell what I think about his works. They are huge in number, for starters, so whether you prefer fiction, poetry, or essays, you will probably find something that you might like to read. His fiction works are generally set in agricultural settings, and he writes so beautifully about the land that it begins to feel like an additional character in the books. He creates amazing characters, but I have always been the most impressed by his female characters- tender yet strong, and women I like to imagine I can one day be like. And lastly, the way he uses the English language is a miracle, really, that he is able to create realities and feelings just by the way he weaves his words together.
Clearly, I am a super-fan.
At the book signing (Ken Sanders Rare Books, of course), thank goodness I was very early, because the line soon went out the door. I met him and I said, "I'm so excited to meet you," but what I really meant to say was, "I love you, Wendell Berry." Because that wouldn't have seemed crazy AT ALL.
If you are looking for a work of fiction, I recommend Hannah Coulter. Dying for a sample? Here's a couple of poems:
The first, about his wife:
Except
Now that you have gone
and I am alone and quiet,
my contentment would be
complete, if I did not wish
you were here so I could say,
"How good it is, Tanya,
to be alone and quiet."
The second, written over 30 years ago, and yet still relevant:
We Who Prayed and Wept
We who prayed and wept
for liberty from kings
and the yoke of liberty
accept the tyranny of things
we do not need.
In plenitude too free,
we have become adept
beneath the yoke of greed.
Those who will not learn
in plenty to keep their place
must learn it by their need
when they have had their way
and the fields spurn their seed.
We have failed Thy grace.
Lord, I flinch and pray,
send Thy necessity.
Run, don't walk, to your nearest library, book store, or well-read friend's house and read something of Wendell Berry's today. You'll thank me (just as I thank Jack for introducing me to him.).
Mona 5th Ward primary families
9 months ago
4 comments:
Soooo cool, Becca! We have a book of his essays here which I will definitely take a look at. How cool that you got to meet him!! I think he would have been very flattered, had you confessed your love. Thanks for the recommendation!
I've never heard of him. I likey. I'll definitely check it out. Thanks!
Ditto on the 10 digit madness.
Book group is going to hear about this Wendell guy. Loved the samples.
Becca,
I thought you might like to read my exchange with a Dixie State College English professor about favorite western writers.
Dangerous Doug
Tim,
Ever since our conversation at Denny's, I have been cogitating about the question you asked me. We started to discuss favorite western writers, and I got side tracked in telling you how I disliked Terry Tempest Williams' writing. Well, our discussion has troubled me a bit, so I thought I would send you a brief e-mail trying to fill in the gaps of my muddled thinking. Please forgive my feeble effort at literary criticism, and my sad excuse for writing. My wife, the English Teacher, would be appalled that I would send an erudite college professor an e-mail like this without her editing it for me.
There are three western writers that I return to frequently all for different reasons. I also believe that their approach, style, and commentary contrast sharply with Ms. Williams' work. First, A. B. Guthrie, in my opinion, captures not only the reality and spirit of the west that I love, but presents the most pointed assessment of our environmental condition. His three principal characters, Boone Caudill, Jim Deakins, and Dick Summers, speak in voices that I recognize. They are the same characters who I hike and ride with regularly. At the end of each ride or hike, we gather on the cabin porch in Grover to rehash our adventures, and talk about the condition of the world. All of us take refuge in the little wild country left, and spend every free moment trying to enjoy it before it disappears. We aren't sentimentally attachmented to some abstract condition, but love the natural world that we know today. As a group, we aren't armchair nature lovers, but spend every free moment aggressively pursuing the activities that give us solitude and a sense of freedom. Like Guthrie, we aren't optimistic about the future, and clearly understand that all of us tend to destroy the things we love. But, we are optimistic in that we want to leave the natural world around us as we found it.
Second, for a spiritual uplift, I read Wendell Berry. I know that technically he isn't a western writer, but I have to include him in my favorite group. As a fallen, or as Bill calls it, "lapsed Mormon," I have to look outside the faith of my birth for spiritual sustenance. I don't find it in the "scriptures," but I do obtain it through Berry's Port William, and its cast of characters. His writing takes me back home. Fifty years ago, Pleasant Grove, was like Berry's Port William. I grew up with Jaber Crow as my barber, Matt Feltner as my neighbor, and Hannah Coulter as my love. Today, I crave the sense of community that Wendell Berry describes that I believe once existed but has been lost. However, to a degree, it has been recreated in Grover, Utah where I spend most of my free time. You ought to join us sometime.
Finally, I can't help myself, but I dearly love Ed Abbey. Through him, I learned to question all authority. Personally, I have never had his courage, but I believe the young man who put the BLM bid process in such a turmoil did. All the beautiful writing in the world can only inspire. Abbey, in my opinion, called us all to action. So far, I haven't found anyone who has filled the void he left.
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