Wendell Berry

Port Royal in Henry County, Kentucky has a population of less than a hundred. And it’s there that farmer, novelist, poet, and cultural critic Wendell Berry—whose family farmed Kentucky land for 7 generations—has been writing for much of his life. With work like The Unsettling of America: Culture and Agriculture, Wendell has functioned as both literary maverick and visionary to Americans for half a century, issuing warnings about industrial farming and the breaking apart of rural communities—concerns that are more immediate than ever. Back in May 2011, Berry appeared at Benaroya Hall for what he, with his trademark humor, terms a “prose sandwich:” the reading of a few poems, followed by his short story “Sold,” and ending with a final poem. After, he is joined by editor and publisher Jack Shoemaker, who talks with him about what “sustainability” really means, how to save our agricultural landscapes, and advising the young (which he calls “a cheap form of entertainment”).