Wendell Berry did not sit on my shelves before; nor yours probably. This collection sees the American published on these islands for the first time, and now he has finally stepped ashore, it’s worth getting to know him. He describes himself as “a farmer of sorts and an artist of sorts” and it shows. In these pieces, which span five decades, Berry overturns plenty of thoughtful topsoil on environmental issues with a precise pen, and clears any thicket of cosy consensus with a clear eye and cutting hand. Bound to the land, Berry speaks with a considered and credible voice. Part nature writing, part philosophy, part polemic, he examines humanity’s impact on the world – is the land unfit for use, or are we unfit to use it, he asks. Although he keeps his plough mainly on the furrows of nature and farming, there are digressions: Mark Twain, feminism, and computers among them. Berry believes there is a music to nature, so instead of drowning it out, we had better start listening. This book is a good starting point.
