Today I had the distinct honor of meeting Kentucky author Wendell Berry at the Butler State Park in Carroll County along with a group of 15 other scholars.
Surely it has been a day I will never forget. Berry pulled into the parking lot as we anxiously awaited his arrival; when I spotted the livestock enclosure in the bed of pickup truck I knew it must be him. Berry is very busy during this time of year because lambs are birthing on his farm. Oddly enough, before he arrived we were joined by two Canadian twins who found themselves in the right place and the right time as they were “stalking” (their words not mine) one of their favorite American authors.
After introductions and taking in his unmistakable Berry charm, we headed down to the meeting room. Berry opened with a discussion of “The Future of Food,” which explored the fundamental problems of conflict between the natural and industrial worlds. Berry spoke of industrial destructiveness as a disease with poverty, health issues, environmental destruction, among others, as its symptoms. He offered a glimpse of hope as there are emerging local economies that support farmers’ markets and other urban food initiatives. He also remarked on the flexibility and adaptability of local involvement in county and state governments and the possibility of radical change on the local level. For Louisville, Berry sees sprouts rather than seeds—change is happening at a grassroots level. Something that particularly struck me was Berry’s connection between medicine and health, health and food, and food and land. The land must be preserved.
On another note, Berry spoke about his beginnings as a writer and said he had a, “inept and clumsy beginning.” Berry overcame the popular idea that in order to become a writer he would have to leave his community. Although he traveled to New York, he returned home to a farm in Henry County. Some of his influences include: Thomas Hardy, Jane Austen, Mark Twain, William Faulkner, Sarah Orne Jewett, William Carlos Williams, and Wallace Stegner. Berry said that these authors were of great influence to him; however, when he started writing in his own style and to his own rhythm is when he was most successful.