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Book Reviews
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The Art of the Commonplace:
The Agrarian Essays of Wendell Berry
Edited and introduced by Norman Wirzba
(Counterpoint. 330 pp. $26)
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This is a collection of 21 essays taken from the writings of Wendell Berry, poet, novelist, philosopher, and farmer. The essays were written from the late 1960s to the present, and each one reflects some facet of Berry’s agrarian philosophy.
And what is this agrarian philosophy? In his introduction, Norman Wirzba describes it thus: “Agrarianism, rather than being a quaint throwback to an impossible pastoral arcadia, is, in the hands and mind of Berry, a necessary and practical corrective to the waywardness of modern industrial culture. Agrarianism, in other words, promises a path toward wholeness with the earth, with each other and with God, a path founded upon an insight into our proper place within the wider universe.” Berry is not demanding that everyone go back to the land and become a farmer — this would not be feasible — but he does ask those of us who are not farmers to think about our connections to farming, and to the land, and to consider the ways in which our actions and purchasing decisions affect farming communities, and the earth.
In these essays, Berry discusses a wide range of subjects: farming, ecology, international trade agreements, racism, technology, relationships between men and women, community life, art, and religion. All of these things, he feels are interrelated.
A recent topic of discussion among environmental activists has been Shellenbarger and Nordhaus’s essay on “The Death of Environmentalism” which, basically, argues that the environmental movement has marginalized itself by being too narrowly focused. In this context, it is most interesting to see Berry expressing the same concerns in “Think Little” (written in 1970), and “The Whole Horse” (written in 2002). In his view, the civil rights and anti-war movements are also suffering from this problem, and he urges activists to form alliances, and look at the big picture.
An interesting aspect of Berry’s writing is that he does not fit neatly into the typical “liberal” or “conservative” camps. In “Racism and Economy” (1988), he argues, compellingly, that the practice of “bussing “ schoolchildren, while well intentioned, has a significant downside and does not really address the underlying problems. And in “Sex, Economy, Freedom, and Community” (1992), he makes some statements about “public” institutions and values as opposed to “community” institutions and values that might raise the hackles of some orthodox liberals, particularly when he says, “It is therefore possible that the future of community life in this country may depend on private schools and home schooling.” Personally, however, I think he is saying some things that deserve fair consideration.
It is tempting to draw some comparisons between this book and Jeffrey Mousaieff Masson’s The Pig Who Sang to the Moon, as they both deal with the dark side of modern industrial agriculture, and the growing disconnect between an urbanized population and its food sources. The focus, however, is different. While Masson is chiefly concerned with the plight of the animals in large-scale factory farms, Berry, characteristically, looks at the big picture; not just the animals, but the plants, the farmers, and the land itself. And while Berry is particular about where his food comes from, he does not share Masson’s views on the question of raising animals for meat. “Some, I know, will think it bloodthirsty, or worse, to eat a fellow creature you have known all its life. On the contrary, I think it means that you eat with understanding, and with gratitude.” (The Pleasures of Eating, 1989)
The essays in this book are thought-provoking, frequently inspiring, and generally hopeful. They are not light reading, but they are refreshing.
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