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.
As a millennial I feel like I don't fit in with the rest of my generation. I still appreciate the material things, but I also appreciate so much of the smaller aspects of life now. I'm more than satisfied with just going out and hanging with friends rather than planning big hangouts at expensive bars and restaurants, or even going on vacations, although I certainly can't afford the latter under my circumstances. I know that my lack of social media presence is met with strange looks by friends, as if I have not participated in the new norm of constantly being online. The only time I made a Twitter account was to promote my Substack, but even then I find the interactions either hollow or just full of superficial shouting matches. I have tried avoiding it now but I feel like it's impossible to do so.
I think so many of us would do well to understand that we should not be as online as we are and enjoy the little things, especially if it does not provide us any monetary benefit.
I do not think that you are as alone, among millennials, as it must feel that you are. By chance, my time as a college professor nearly perfectly overlapped the time when millennials were in college (although I always had older students as well). I found that, almost to a person, they were in fact eager for real connection, and challenge, and rigor and contact and innovations both small and large, even if they themselves were not conscious of it at first. It is easy to chase that which makes the biggest bang, leaves the most visible impact *at first,* but do it for a while, and so many people realize that the most obvious and visible impacts are often not the most important or lasting ones.
Thank you for your comment Heather. I do feel like a lot of this may boil down to personal interactions which my generation has now lost in lieu of social media. With COVID that only exacerbated that issue even further. When possible I always tried to hang out with friends in person rather than do Zoom but I wonder if many of my fellow peers may not feel the same and are quite content with the "new normal". Hopefully the next few months will change that and more people will yearn for the little things they can enjoy with each other.
I think the closer we become to a social credit score society, the more you will get "othered" for not being on social media. I use IG for my farm, but just for marketing, no politics.
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 would be pleased to do this. I love writing, and love that I have an audience comprised of people who are generous enough with their time to read what I write, and to appreciate it. But I also know that writing requires expanses of time in which deadlines do not loom, so reading poems on here somewhat regularly would also help me keep my mind free enough to create. I am open to suggestions, with the caveat that I often feel that I have failed to grasp poetry, so what others find deep and meaningful I may not, and I won't read aloud anything that I don't feel that I understand, or indeed love, at least in my own way.
[There are several proofreading mistakes: "foul-faced", not "four-faced"; “AS pale as moonlight"; "for a quick revision OF the Northodox version"; no comma after "Moment by moment"; colon, not dash, after "But not from the cold"; and”the pillar OF one paw”. I've asked the blogger to correct these mistakes.]
It's a dogeared fave from a 1979 paperback called "A Geography of Poets" (over 500 pages of poems by many, many American poets). A few other faves from that book are "Fame" by Vern Rutsala, "What Is Being Forgotten" by Eloise Klein Healy, "Legacy II" by Leroy Quintana, "Money" by Victor Contoski, "A Hollow Tree" by Robert Bly, "Abandoned Farmhouse" by Ted Kooser...
Thank you once again for your comment Heather. I've felt a large burnout from writing on my Substack, so your sentiments ring true with me to a great extent. I've been writing large pieces on several drugs and therapeutics which have taken a lot more time that I would have hoped (this month was on Fluvoxamine) and at a time when I'm battling with whether I should deal with still lingering vaccine mandates and find a new job, or if I should persevere but maybe take it a little light for the moment. I'm definitely using March as a time to lean in and take it easier, so I hope you know that we understand if you decide to not have robust, dense pieces every week.
Would your last sentiment suggest that you are open to receiving more poems from your viewers and readers? I certainly don't know of any good poems, but I'm sure if that's the case that many people will have many more great poems to provide!
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.
Your musings here closely match my own. I too see the possibility of a superficial interpretation, which might be read as traditionalist; but the deeper interpretation is that neither sex ought be rewarded when they "go cheap for power." Berry does not elaborate here, it being a poem and all, but I would argue--of course I would, see my pieces on sex differences in competition posted here earlier this year--that the kind of power that men and women accumulate has historically been different, but is increasingly the same, but that the routes to that power, the mechanisms by which it is obtained, have historically been quite different, and that recognizing that rather than pretending it isn't true is the way forward into a world that neither limits women for being women, nor broadly lifts them (us) up simply for being women, or for pointing to past inequalities.
Thanks very much for that. I think that "to invest women with a power not available to men" means essentially the same thing as "the kind of power that men and women accumulate has historically been different" and by extension the reverse of the quote from my comment is certainly true; and I assume that that "kind of power" "is increasingly the same" by virtue of "the routes to that power, the mechanisms by which it is obtained" refers to cultural evolution through the mechanism of your postulated Omega Principle? The degree to which genes interact (or compete?) within that mechanism would seem to be a measure of just how hard-wired all this is and to what degree culture is indeed in service to the genome. That the "routes...have historically been quite different" would be a landscape to explore in that regard, or perhaps it has already been. Sociobiology, anyone? But that field is said by some to have started off on the wrong foot, as I understand it. It seems an apt name for this, but also now a "trigger" for its detractors due to its premises needing to evolve. Epimemetics!
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.
As a millennial I feel like I don't fit in with the rest of my generation. I still appreciate the material things, but I also appreciate so much of the smaller aspects of life now. I'm more than satisfied with just going out and hanging with friends rather than planning big hangouts at expensive bars and restaurants, or even going on vacations, although I certainly can't afford the latter under my circumstances. I know that my lack of social media presence is met with strange looks by friends, as if I have not participated in the new norm of constantly being online. The only time I made a Twitter account was to promote my Substack, but even then I find the interactions either hollow or just full of superficial shouting matches. I have tried avoiding it now but I feel like it's impossible to do so.
I think so many of us would do well to understand that we should not be as online as we are and enjoy the little things, especially if it does not provide us any monetary benefit.
I do not think that you are as alone, among millennials, as it must feel that you are. By chance, my time as a college professor nearly perfectly overlapped the time when millennials were in college (although I always had older students as well). I found that, almost to a person, they were in fact eager for real connection, and challenge, and rigor and contact and innovations both small and large, even if they themselves were not conscious of it at first. It is easy to chase that which makes the biggest bang, leaves the most visible impact *at first,* but do it for a while, and so many people realize that the most obvious and visible impacts are often not the most important or lasting ones.
Thank you for your comment Heather. I do feel like a lot of this may boil down to personal interactions which my generation has now lost in lieu of social media. With COVID that only exacerbated that issue even further. When possible I always tried to hang out with friends in person rather than do Zoom but I wonder if many of my fellow peers may not feel the same and are quite content with the "new normal". Hopefully the next few months will change that and more people will yearn for the little things they can enjoy with each other.
I think the closer we become to a social credit score society, the more you will get "othered" for not being on social media. I use IG for my farm, but just for marketing, no politics.
I didn't realize N.O had done that. I will seek out. Thank you.
Please do, it is a perfect match. Nick loves the writing so much and you can hear him emoting the words so well from his own heart.
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 would be pleased to do this. I love writing, and love that I have an audience comprised of people who are generous enough with their time to read what I write, and to appreciate it. But I also know that writing requires expanses of time in which deadlines do not loom, so reading poems on here somewhat regularly would also help me keep my mind free enough to create. I am open to suggestions, with the caveat that I often feel that I have failed to grasp poetry, so what others find deep and meaningful I may not, and I won't read aloud anything that I don't feel that I understand, or indeed love, at least in my own way.
I would like to suggest "The Labors of Thor" by David Wagoner:
https://inwardboundpoetry.blogspot.com/2007/03/373-labors-of-thor-david-wagoner.html
[There are several proofreading mistakes: "foul-faced", not "four-faced"; “AS pale as moonlight"; "for a quick revision OF the Northodox version"; no comma after "Moment by moment"; colon, not dash, after "But not from the cold"; and”the pillar OF one paw”. I've asked the blogger to correct these mistakes.]
It's a dogeared fave from a 1979 paperback called "A Geography of Poets" (over 500 pages of poems by many, many American poets). A few other faves from that book are "Fame" by Vern Rutsala, "What Is Being Forgotten" by Eloise Klein Healy, "Legacy II" by Leroy Quintana, "Money" by Victor Contoski, "A Hollow Tree" by Robert Bly, "Abandoned Farmhouse" by Ted Kooser...
Thank you once again for your comment Heather. I've felt a large burnout from writing on my Substack, so your sentiments ring true with me to a great extent. I've been writing large pieces on several drugs and therapeutics which have taken a lot more time that I would have hoped (this month was on Fluvoxamine) and at a time when I'm battling with whether I should deal with still lingering vaccine mandates and find a new job, or if I should persevere but maybe take it a little light for the moment. I'm definitely using March as a time to lean in and take it easier, so I hope you know that we understand if you decide to not have robust, dense pieces every week.
Would your last sentiment suggest that you are open to receiving more poems from your viewers and readers? I certainly don't know of any good poems, but I'm sure if that's the case that many people will have many more great poems to provide!
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.
Your musings here closely match my own. I too see the possibility of a superficial interpretation, which might be read as traditionalist; but the deeper interpretation is that neither sex ought be rewarded when they "go cheap for power." Berry does not elaborate here, it being a poem and all, but I would argue--of course I would, see my pieces on sex differences in competition posted here earlier this year--that the kind of power that men and women accumulate has historically been different, but is increasingly the same, but that the routes to that power, the mechanisms by which it is obtained, have historically been quite different, and that recognizing that rather than pretending it isn't true is the way forward into a world that neither limits women for being women, nor broadly lifts them (us) up simply for being women, or for pointing to past inequalities.
Thanks very much for that. I think that "to invest women with a power not available to men" means essentially the same thing as "the kind of power that men and women accumulate has historically been different" and by extension the reverse of the quote from my comment is certainly true; and I assume that that "kind of power" "is increasingly the same" by virtue of "the routes to that power, the mechanisms by which it is obtained" refers to cultural evolution through the mechanism of your postulated Omega Principle? The degree to which genes interact (or compete?) within that mechanism would seem to be a measure of just how hard-wired all this is and to what degree culture is indeed in service to the genome. That the "routes...have historically been quite different" would be a landscape to explore in that regard, or perhaps it has already been. Sociobiology, anyone? But that field is said by some to have started off on the wrong foot, as I understand it. It seems an apt name for this, but also now a "trigger" for its detractors due to its premises needing to evolve. Epimemetics!
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!