Roots to the earth

Format:

Book

Title:

Roots to the earth

Author:

Berry, Wendell, 1934- author

ISBN:

9781619027800

Publication:

Berkeley, CA : Counterpoint, 2016.

Physical Description:

55 pages : illustrations ; 26 cm

General Note:

Poetry collection originally published in 1995.

Contains the prize-winning short story: The Branch way of doing.

Contents:

The man born to farming -- The buildings -- The seeds -- The current -- The barn -- The farmer, speaking of monuments -- The fearfulness of hands that have learned killing -- Enriching the earth -- The branch way of doing.

Summary:

In 1995, Wendell Berry's Roots to the Earth was published in portfolio form by West Meadow Press. The wood etchings of celebrated artist and wood engraver, Wesley Bates, were printed from the original wood blocks on handmade Japanese paper. In 2014, this work was reprinted along with additional poems. Together with Bates' original wood engravings, and designed by Gray Zeitz, Larkspur Press printed just one hundred copies of this book in a stunning limited edition. Now it is with great pleasure that Counterpoint is reproducing this collaborative work for trade publication, as well as expanding it with the inclusion of a short story, "The Branch Way of Doing," with additional engravings by Bates. In his introduction to the 2014 collection, Bates wrote: "As our society moves toward urbanization, the majority of the population views agriculture from an increasingly detached position ... In his poetry [Berry] reveals tenderness and love as well as anger and uncertainty ... The wood engravings in this collection are intended to be companion pieces to ... the way he expresses what it is to be a farmer."

Subject(s):

Farmers -- Poetry.

Farm life -- Poetry.

Rural families -- Poetry.

Agriculture -- Poetry.

Farmers -- Fiction.

Farm life -- Fiction.

Rural families -- Fiction.

Genre:

Added Author:

Berry, Wendell, 1934- Branch way of doing.

Holds:

Available:*

Library	Call Number	Status
Searching... Dallas Public Library	811.54 BERRY	Searching... Unknown

Bound With These Titles

On Order

Summary

In 1995, Wendell Berry's Roots to the Earth was published in portfolio form by West Meadow Press. The wood etchings of celebrated artist and wood engraver, Wesley Bates, were printed from the original wood blocks on handmade Japanese paper. In 2014, this work was reprinted at Larkspur Press, along with additional poems. It is now with great pleasure that Counterpoint reproduces this collaborative work for trade publication, as well as expanding it with the inclusion of a short story, "The Branch Way of Doing," and additional engravings by Bates.

In his introduction to the 2014 collection, Bates wrote- "As our society moves toward urbanization, the majority of the population views agriculture from an increasingly detached position. . . In his poetry Berry reveals tenderness and love as well as anger and uncertainty. . . The wood engravings in this collection are intended to be companion pieces to. . . the way he expresses what it is to be a farmer."

Author Notes

Wendell Berry The prolific poet, novelist, and essayist Wendell Berry is a fifth-generation native of north central Kentucky. Berry taught at Stanford University; traveled to Italy and France on a Guggenheim Fellowship; and taught at New York University and the University of Kentucky, Lexington, before moving to Henry County.

Berry owns and operates Lanes Landing Farm, a small, hilly piece of property on the Kentucky River. He embraced full-time farming as a career, using horses and organic methods to tend the land. Harmony with nature in general, and the farming tradition in particular, is a central theme of Berry's diverse work.

As a poet, Berry gained popularity within the literary community. Collected Poems, 1957-1982, was particularly well-received. Novels and short stories set in Port William, a fictional town paralleling his real-life home town of Port Royal further established his literary reputation. The Memory of Old Jack, Berry's third novel, received Chicago's Friends of American Writers Award for 1975. Berry reached his broadest audience and attained his greatest popular acclaim through his essays. The Unsettling of America: Culture and Agriculture is a springboard for contemporary environmental concerns.

In his life as well as his art, Berry has advocated a responsible, contextual relationship with individuals in a local, agrarian economy.

(Bowker Author Biography)