Synopses & Reviews
A writer who can imagine the community belonging to its place” is one who has applied his knowledge and citizenship to achieve the goal to which Wendell Berry has always aspiredto be a native to his own local culture. And for Berry, what is local, fully imagined, becomes universal,” and the local” is to know ones place and allow the imagination to inspire and instill a practical respect for what is there besides ourselves.”
In Imagination in Place, we travel to the local cultures of several writers important to Berrys life and work, from Wallace Stegners great West and Ernest Gaines Louisiana plantation life to Donald Halls New England, and on to the Western frontier as seen through the Far East lens of Gary Snyder. Berry laments todays dispossessed and displaced, those writers and people with no home and no citizenship, but he argues that there is hope for the establishment of new local cultures in both the practical and literary sense.
Rich with Berrys personal experience of life as a Kentucky agrarian, the collection includes portraits of a few of Americas most imaginative writers, including James Still, Hayden Carruth, Jane Kenyon, John Haines, and several others.
Review
Praise for
Imagination in Place"Berry's latest collection of essays is the reminiscence of a literary life. It is a book that acknowledges a lifetime of intellectual influences, and in doing so, positions Berry more squarely as a cornerstone of American literature . . . a necessary book. Here, Berry's place as the 'grandfather of slow food' or the 'prophet of rural living' is not questioned. This book ensures we understand the depth and breadth of Berry's art." San Francisco Chronicle
[A] stellar collection . . . Berry turns over well-tilled, ever-fertile ground in Imagination in Place. His ideas flow beyond the channels of agrarian enthusiasm. Foodies, architects, transportation engineers, and other writers are adopting and adapting his concepts, perhaps leading to what he envisions will one day be an authentic settlement of our country.” The Oregonian
"As the local-foods movement grows and skepticism about suburban sprawl increases, Berrys long-held ideas ring with renewed urgency." The Christian Science Monitor
"For those whove already come to admire Berrys moral clarity and closely argued critiques of contemporary society, Imagination in Place is a welcome chance to continue the conversation.” The Christian Science Monitor
Synopsis
In this varied and vibrant collection of new writings, Wendell Berry covers a wide landscape of interests relevant to us all, ranging from public policy to nature and spirituality. He shares his singular perspective on matters that affect each of us on personal and public levels--indeed, this collection confirms what Berry readers have long known: Few writers in America can match the depth of his thought or the ringing clarity of his prose. Imagination in Place brings to date Berry's perspective on such essential current concerns as agriculture, sustainability, and the economy. He addresses the latter with his much admired essay Faustian Economics, previously published in Harper's Magazine and included here--an especially prescient commentary given our country's current challenges with late capitalism. There are also beautiful essays of tribute, wherein Berry offers insights into the lives and works of writers such as Wallace Stegner, James Still, Gary Snyder, Kathleen Raine, Donald Hall, and Jane Kenyon. Altogether, readers familiar with Wendell Berry's work and those new to his thought will find the essays here to be full of extraordinary power and hope.