The world lost a great man when Kentuckian Wendell Berry died on August 31st. I knew of him as a thoughtful advocate for the earth. His poems and essays show how much he got what “sense of place” means. This outlook which I share with him is a driving force for me. It informs me for where I have chosen to live. It is what I encourage my landscape clients to embrace.
I was tickled a couple years ago while at a restaurant in Louisville, KY, where I saw on the menu that its beef came from Berry’s nearby farm. I had known that he was a farmer in the area, but this felt like rubbing elbows with him (okay, with his cow). Born in Louisville, I try to get back to Kentucky in the fall whenever I can to see my extended family. In fact, I’ll be going there in a month. This kindred spirit will be on my mind.
Berry’s joy and positivity were infectious. In an interview with Bill Moyers, he was asked how we can find hope in this troubled world. He answered that as long as one believes he can change himself, then there is hope. That felt empowering.
I end with an excerpt from his poem “A Spiritual Journey” which I keep on my nightstand: “And the world cannot be discovered by a journey of miles, no matter how long, but only by a spiritual journey, a journey of one inch, very arduous and humbling and joyful, by which we arrive at the ground at our feet, and learn to be at home.”
Thank you for the poem, Mr. Berry. And for the work you did which I am sure will pass down many generations.