Mar 1, 2022·edited Mar 1, 2022Liked by Heather Heying
So timely. Not more than 2 hours ago I deactivated my Twitter account since sense making has become too much, and time consuming, and evidence to future thought police. I've dumbed my phone down as far as I can, and I've put as much thought into these things as I'm sure Wendell Berry made in personal computers. As a small farmer myself, it brings me no greater joy than to walk my small 9 acres and listen to Nick Offerman read Wendall Berry. It's both therapeutic and inspiring.
This is definitely a welcomed change of pace from what one usually gets on Substack. Could this type of post (reading poems) become more frequent in the future? It'll be a nice mix-in that provides a bit of a break from the constant inundation of information, and it certainly helps provide keep certain things in perspective!
Mar 2, 2022·edited Mar 2, 2022Liked by Heather Heying
Two lines from the poem that are almost shocking to realize in this time of culture wars/warring cultures,
"So long as women do not go cheap
for power, please women more than men"
spoke powerfully to both you and your husband yet can seem counter to a 'traditionally' liberal perspective, depending on what assumptions one brings to it. Berry's indulgence in poetic license, if that is a suitable characterization, leaves himself open to some illiberal interpretations:
"Give your approval to all you cannot
understand. Praise ignorance, for what man
has not encountered he has not destroyed."
This poem is purely libertarian, bordering on anarchy, but I guess the title gives him license, no matter how you define 'mad'. (It is very liberating, in a delightfully mad way, "till human voices wake us, and we drown"-apologies to another great poet.)
A religious and/or conservative fundamentalist might assume the kind of power referenced is vested in men, and only women who eschew it are worthy of their public idealization by men (though what happens in private may be another thing).
But a liberal perspective may see power as something both men and women can go for either cheaply or in good faith and with at least good intention, though Berry does not quite state it like that and seems to invest women with a power not available to men:
"Ask yourself: Will this satisfy
a woman satisfied to bear a child?"
This is actually your well-argued evolutionary perspective if I understand it correctly and it is pretty well lost in the current cultural climate. Could be I have it all wrong. If so, please let me know what you think.
"Ask the questions that have no answers" is what science is for.
Heather, what a gift this poem is. I love Wendell Berry and had not read this one before. You and Bret have expanded my mind and done my heart good in the past two years. Thank you for your courageous use of your many gifts. I am grateful the two of you are in the world, doing your unparalleled thing.
[Proofreading edit: it's "foul-faced", not "four-faced"]
A few other dogeared faves from that book are "Fame" by Vern Rutsala, "What Is Being Forgotten" by Eloise Klein Healy, "Legacy II" by Leroy Quintana, "A Hollow Tree" by Robert Bly, "Money" by Victor Contoski, "Abandoned Farmhouse" by Ted Kooser...
I have eschewed poetry for decades but succumbed to reading this on your recommendation. Wowie zowie. It is great. And my god, talk about a Dr. Zach Bush manifesto. I hope he’s found it.
One of my all time favorites. My brother recently sent me a NEw Yorker article written about Mr. Berry. It was very well done and let me know that his latest nonfiction work will be coming out this summer. He has so much still to teach us all. Can’t wait!
So timely. Not more than 2 hours ago I deactivated my Twitter account since sense making has become too much, and time consuming, and evidence to future thought police. I've dumbed my phone down as far as I can, and I've put as much thought into these things as I'm sure Wendell Berry made in personal computers. As a small farmer myself, it brings me no greater joy than to walk my small 9 acres and listen to Nick Offerman read Wendall Berry. It's both therapeutic and inspiring.
This is definitely a welcomed change of pace from what one usually gets on Substack. Could this type of post (reading poems) become more frequent in the future? It'll be a nice mix-in that provides a bit of a break from the constant inundation of information, and it certainly helps provide keep certain things in perspective!
I had just sent that poem to my son. So wonderful to have it sent to me. The times call The Mad Farmer.
Two lines from the poem that are almost shocking to realize in this time of culture wars/warring cultures,
"So long as women do not go cheap
for power, please women more than men"
spoke powerfully to both you and your husband yet can seem counter to a 'traditionally' liberal perspective, depending on what assumptions one brings to it. Berry's indulgence in poetic license, if that is a suitable characterization, leaves himself open to some illiberal interpretations:
"Give your approval to all you cannot
understand. Praise ignorance, for what man
has not encountered he has not destroyed."
This poem is purely libertarian, bordering on anarchy, but I guess the title gives him license, no matter how you define 'mad'. (It is very liberating, in a delightfully mad way, "till human voices wake us, and we drown"-apologies to another great poet.)
A religious and/or conservative fundamentalist might assume the kind of power referenced is vested in men, and only women who eschew it are worthy of their public idealization by men (though what happens in private may be another thing).
But a liberal perspective may see power as something both men and women can go for either cheaply or in good faith and with at least good intention, though Berry does not quite state it like that and seems to invest women with a power not available to men:
"Ask yourself: Will this satisfy
a woman satisfied to bear a child?"
This is actually your well-argued evolutionary perspective if I understand it correctly and it is pretty well lost in the current cultural climate. Could be I have it all wrong. If so, please let me know what you think.
"Ask the questions that have no answers" is what science is for.
Heather, what a gift this poem is. I love Wendell Berry and had not read this one before. You and Bret have expanded my mind and done my heart good in the past two years. Thank you for your courageous use of your many gifts. I am grateful the two of you are in the world, doing your unparalleled thing.
I have a 1979 paperback called "A Geography of Poets" and my dogeared favorite is "The Labors of Thor" by David Wagoner. Things are not always what they seem! https://inwardboundpoetry.blogspot.com/2007/03/373-labors-of-thor-david-wagoner.html
[Proofreading edit: it's "foul-faced", not "four-faced"]
A few other dogeared faves from that book are "Fame" by Vern Rutsala, "What Is Being Forgotten" by Eloise Klein Healy, "Legacy II" by Leroy Quintana, "A Hollow Tree" by Robert Bly, "Money" by Victor Contoski, "Abandoned Farmhouse" by Ted Kooser...
I have eschewed poetry for decades but succumbed to reading this on your recommendation. Wowie zowie. It is great. And my god, talk about a Dr. Zach Bush manifesto. I hope he’s found it.
One of my all time favorites. My brother recently sent me a NEw Yorker article written about Mr. Berry. It was very well done and let me know that his latest nonfiction work will be coming out this summer. He has so much still to teach us all. Can’t wait!
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2022/02/28/wendell-berrys-advice-for-a-cataclysmic-age/amp
Wonderful!