Who is Wendell Berry
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Wendell Berry - Author, Poet, Farmer
Welcome to my page honoring Mr. Wendell Berry of Kentucky.
Berry is a poet, farmer, cultural and economic critic as well as a prolific author of novels and essays. His writings reveal what he values about life - a connection to place, sustainable agriculture, healthy communities, local economics, and the interconnectedness of life.
He considers ignorance, greed, industrialization (especially in farming), violence, and environmental destruction to be threats to these values.
I first learned about Wendell Berry while completing a Masters Program in Earth Literacy and had a chance to hear him speak as part of a panel discussion during the Spirit & Place Festival in Indianapolis. He has such an intelligent, calm, and no-nonsense way of presenting himself. I consider him a prophet for our time. Berry does not have a personal website. This website is the most comprehensive I have found on him.
Image Credit: Charlie Pearl from YES Magazine
Three reasons to love Wendell Berry
1. He is one smart farmer and writer.
2. He is a prophet for our time.
3. He wrote, "We must learn to grow like a tree, not a fire."
Wendell Berry on Economics
The September 2009 issue of "The Progressive" has an article by Wendell Berry called Inverting the Economic Order. I recommend that you read the whole article, but in it he says,
"in ordering the economy of a household or community or nation, I would put nature first, the economies of land use second, the manufacturing economy third, and the consumer economy fourth."
Berry argues that our society does exactly the opposite. Can you imagine a society that would put nature first?
Bill McKibben Introduces Wendell Berry
Washington, DC 2009
“We are almost entirely dependent on an economy of which we are almost entirely ignorant.”
Sex, Economy, Freedom & Community
by Wendell Berry
This was the first Wendell Berry book I read, and it is marked and highlighted extensively. It consists of eight essays or chapters, the last one being the title of this book. In that essay he ends by saying,
"Respect, I think, always implies imagination - the ability to see one another, across our inevitable differences, as living souls."
Sex, Economy, Freedom & Community: Eight Essays
Amazon Price: $6.98 (as of 02/17/2012)
List Price: $14.00
It is profound!
More Essays by Wendell Berry
Agriculture, Economics, Community
Wendell Berry, according to bloggers
- Preserving humanity in an inhumane time
- by Ethan Casey on February 17th, 2012 | Comment (1) ?Protest that endures, I think,? the American writer Wendell Berry once wrote, ?is moved by a hope far more modest than that of public success: namely, the hope of preserving qualities in one's own ...
- Wendell Berry to Give 2012 Jefferson Lecture
- By JENNIFER SCHUESSLER The farmer-writer Wendell Berry will deliver the 41st annual Jefferson Lecture in the Humanities, the National Endowment for the Arts announced on Monday. The lecture, to be given on April 23 at the Kennedy Center for the ...
- Organic Farmer Prince Charles on Changing Our Faulty Food System
- The tiny, 46-page book (published by Rodale and available online and at your local Indie) reprints the speech along with color photographs and a foreword by Wendell Berry and afterword by Eric Schlosser. What sticks out to you most in this speech/book?
- Wendell Berry Named 41st Jefferson Lecturer in the Humanities
- Wendell Berry was named the 41st Jefferson Lecturer in the Humanities by the National Endowment for the Humanities. As part of the award, Berry will deliver a lecture on April 23 in Washington, DC. The speech's title is ?It All Turns on Affection,? and ...
March 1, 2011
Wendell Berry Receives
Humanitarian Award
at the White House
Receiving a humanities medal from the President was a memorable one for Berry as he had never met or spoken to a President of the U.S. before. Ever humble, Berry said,
"To have my work honored is a satisfaction %u2026 because my work has been to so large an extent an effort to promote good care of the land. And, of course, I'm still actively in efforts to do that. I'm glad for whatever notice that effort can receive."
A quote from President Obama:
"Time and again, the tools of change, and of progress, of revolution, of ferment - they're not just pickaxes and hammers and screens and software, but they've also been brushes and pens and cameras and guitars."
- News Report Louisville, KY Courier Journal
- Report on Wendell Berry's Humanities Medal Ceremony
- The Culture of Agriculture
- July 2011 from Tilth Producers of Washington - anniversary re-publication of a Wendell Berry talk from 1974.
People Who Have Visited Wendell Berry
And here's another article by Sandra McCracken on her visit to see Wendell Berry.
Wendell Berry Picks Jail over NAIS
National Animal Identification System
which Wendell Berry and many others oppose.
According to the USDA, the purpose of NAIS is to protect the health of U.S. livestock and poultry and the economic well-being of those industries, and to quickly and effectively trace an animal disease to its source.
Wendell Berry argues that the need to tag animals comes from the confined animal operations which are prone to disease. This system would be extremely burdensome and expensive for small farmers and he is willing to go to jail to oppose it.
- Rebellion on the Range Over a Cattle ID Plan
- New York Times article by Erik Eckholm.
- NoNais.org
- Protect our traditional rights to farm.
- Organic Consumers Association
- Wendell Berry and Community Farm Alliance Protest NAIS in Kentucky
- Food Renegade Blog
- Wendell Berry picks jail over NAIS
- U.S.D.A. Site
- Description of NAIS
Wendell Berry on the future of food
at Georgetown University,
May 2011.
Novels by Wendell Berry
about rural life
Here is a sample of his fiction writing in The Atlantic Monthly Magazine - a short story called "Sold."
Poems by Wendell Berry
Listen to an interview
with Wendell Berry on
The Diane Rehm Show
What are they saying on Twitter?
about Wendell Berry
Thanks for visiting.
Please share your thoughts on Wendell Berry.
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sheilamarie Nov 29, 2010 @ 11:31 am | delete
- My youngest son sat next to Wendell Berry at a dinner after Patrick's high school group performed a "speak chorus" honoring Berry's work. Wendell Berry is a prophet for our time. Thanks for writing this lens about him.
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poutine
Jun 30, 2010 @ 6:01 am | delete
- Didn't know about him until.
Listening to an interview right now.
Poutine
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bobbylehew
Nov 26, 2009 @ 7:43 am | delete
- Love Wendell Berry, I know mostly by his fiction works, his writing will stand the test of time and will be read for years to come. Great job on the lense!
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Clarke Kahlo
Jul 29, 2009 @ 6:18 am | delete
- I first was aquainted with him and his work in 1995 at the Orion Society's Watershed conference for writers, activists and educators in Washinbgton D.C. He is truly a national treasure.
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Sojourn
Jul 21, 2009 @ 9:58 pm | delete
- I had never heard of Wendell Berry before but I admire his principals! Appears to be a strong-minded, sound individual who is willing to take a stand for what he believes. Nice overview!
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About the Author
by kimmanleyort
Mother, wife and photographer who never stops learning. Wendell Berry is one of my Top 10 heroes.
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My Favorite Wendell Berry Book
Sex, Economy, Freedom & Community: Eight Essays
Amazon Price: $6.98 (as of 02/17/2012)
Eight thought-provoking essays. A great introduction to Wendell Berry's thought process.
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