D.E.A.R. Berry,
Wendell Berry is an American writer, environmental activist, and farmer who has long emphasized the importance of sustainable agricultural practices to support a healthy ecosystems, communities, and local economies. He has written over 40 books of poetry, fiction and essays about his experiences on the land, small-scale farming, and the rural lifestyle. He is passionate about farming and stewardship, and believes in not only knowing your farm but keeping people on farms.
Wendell Berry has devoted his life to farming and writing. He was born in Port Royal, Kentucky, into a 5th generation farming family. He’s deeply connected to the land, raising sheep and growing corn and grain. Berry and his family live on a homestead of 117 acres near his hometown.
Berry earned his Bachelor’s and Master’s in English from the University of Kentucky. He continued in a creative writing program, and only four years after graduating with his bachelor’s he had published his first book. Berry has taught at numerous prestigious universities like Stanford and Georgetown as well as his Alma mater, UK.
When read as a whole, his stories form a chronicle of a fictional small rural town of Port William, Kentucky. Port William focuses on agricultural practices and changes in traditional farm life. Berry created the imagined town of Port William and its people in a way that seems to honor the place where his own roots reach deep into the earth.
Hannah Coulter, is Berry’s seventh novel and one of his most popular. This story encompasses Hannah’s life, including the Great Depression and World War II, the postwar industrialization of agriculture, and trouble continuing her farm to the next generation. The tale is told in the voice of Hannah, an old woman twice widowed, who has experienced much loss yet has never been defeated.
Family farming culture is at risk with twentieth century technologies arising and hope is restored when Virgil, her young grandson and distant family member returns home to work the farm. She finds strength in people caring for each other, even in absence. All in all, Hannah Coulter embodies many of the themes of Berry’s Port William saga.
We hope to inspire you to “Drop Everything And Read,” to learn and grow, and share with others. You can find his books in the USFWS Conservation Library. Make everyday a D.E.A.R. day!
