I was surprised how affected I’ve been by the news of Wendell Berry’s passing. Yes, Dolly Parton is much more widely known, and presumably more of a broad culture-changer, but Wendell Berry… It’s unlikely we’ll have another American poet like him in our lifetimes. What a man—wise, complicated, simple, chock-full of the carrion of earth, containing multitudes. His writing, both fiction and non, forces me to stop and ponder more than any (up-to-recent) living writer, and his loss is a real one. His is a novel in which I cried ugly tears upon finishing, a rarity for me. Being 92, I knew we wouldn’t have him much longer, but still… It’s him and Peter Kreeft1 for me. 💛 The world is a richer place because of Mr. Berry’s oeuvre. More on him below.
Our first day of classes this week went beautifully! This co-op I started two years ago has become bigger than I ever imagined, which means I am beyond grateful for the other parents who’ve rolled up their sleeves to help. My “working genius”2 lies more in vision-casting and launching, decidedly not in maintenance, so I look forward to passing on the keys to this growing ship soon... But in the meantime, I’m so grateful to be back in the classroom with adolescents, who are some of my favorite people to be around during an ordinary week. These 14 to 18-year-olds are delightful, and they give me hope for our future.
5 Quick Things ☕️
1. A few days ago we practiced our regular end-of-the-month gratitude by naming ten things, big and small, we’re thankful for. What readers have mentioned so far: “’bracelet making with my 6-year-old,’ ‘air conditioning while heat wave continues,’ ‘my pumpkin coffee creamer making it feel like fall,’ and ‘being brave and saying something that needed to be said with kindness and grace. I think. I hope.’” Join in and share your August list!
2. I knew I’d appreciate Hadden Turner’s reflections on Berry’s death, and I wasn’t wrong: “The most fitting way to honour Mr. Berry’s life and legacy, beyond sharing poems, quotes, and stories, is to make his costly words mean something in your life; to change — really change — the way you relate to your local place, your neighbours, and the wild creatures who also call your place home.”
3. Another Brit who really appreciated Berry’s work, Paul Kingsnorth hits the nail on the head with his observations here (and I’m envious of his having gotten to sit around the Kentucky dinner table with the Berry clan): “Berry never bought a computer or used a smartphone; he wouldn’t use air travel; and he lived and worked in the small rural community he brought to life with his words. Unable to call him a hypocrite, his critics had to content themselves instead with calling him an unrealistic fossil, wedded to a dead past. But there was nothing simple about Wendell Berry, and he was not committed to some Romantic fantasy.”
4. This story from The Rabbit Room about getting permission to reprint one of Berry’s poems made me smile.
5. And finally, I loved this honest poem from Annelise Roberts about making peace with Wendell Berry, at minimum because she quotes one of my all-time favorite quotes of his (and for many years what has been on my welcome page of The Commonplace here): “One day you will read / Be joyful though you have considered all the facts / and you will rage.”
Currently Reading, Watching, Listening 📖
Sacred Fire: A Vision for a Deeper Human and Christian Maturity, by Ronald Rolheiser3
Quotable 💬
“So, friends, every day do something that won’t compute. Love the Lord. Love the world. Work for nothing. Take all that you have and be poor. Love someone who does not deserve it.”
- (who else, but our friend) Wendell Berry
Water: what’s your preference? 💧
Obviously I like still water. Obviously. I’d be dead otherwise. But if I had to choose… I’m grabbing the sparkling water.
Still: 70.5%
Sparkling: 29.5%
Find the next poll question here.
Come to Italy With Me… 🍷
I’m absolutely stoked about next summer’s pilgrimage… I’d love to have you join my family and me! Let your world get rocked in all the right ways through Tuscany’s beauty.
Quick Links 🔗
Question(s) For You to Ponder… 🤔
What could you do this weekend to please your ten-years-ago self? Your ten-years-from-now self?
Have a good weekend,
- Tsh
p.s. - Me right now (and let’s be honest, me in Central Texas for the next six weeks still).
Who’s still holding on strong for now.
Kyle and I are reading this together slowly this fall, and it’s already blowing our minds and giving us much to talk about. It’s perfect for our stage in life right now.
Sacred Fire is on my list for the fall too. I just need to finish Liturgies of the Wild first. Too many non fictions can overwhelm me.