Meet me, meet me,
the redbird sings,
here here here here.
from “The Law That Marries All Things” by Wendell Berry
Join us for a hike at DeYoung Natural Area, where we will read from the poetry of Wendell Berry—American poet, novelist, essayist, environmental activist, and farmer who recently passed away at the age of 92.
The subject of Berry’s writings is his place in the world. He wrote of the beauty and responsibility in staying put in a place, respecting it, knowing its history and the names of the plants, animals, and people who live there.
Berry was a self-described agrarian writer who warned against industrialism and technology, while trying to hold out hope that we might yet become a healthy people in a healthy land:
“Industrialism begins with technological invention. But agrarianism begins with givens: land, plants, animals, weather, hunger, and the birthright knowledge of agriculture…Agrarian farmers know that their very identity depends on their willingness to receive gratefully, use responsibly, and hand down intact an inheritance, both natural and cultural, from the past.”
As we walk along the trails of DeYoung Natural Area, we will listen to the invitation of Berry’s poems to understand ourselves by understanding this world as an “immeasurable gift.”
This will be an easy-paced hike at DeYoung, a historic farmstead dating back to 1855. After the hike, all are invited for an optional gathering in the original farmhouse to learn more about Wendell Berry’s work and, if time allows, to try our hand at some place-based writing. Allow for 2 hours if you plan to stay after the hike.
Note: We’ll meet outside the farmhouse at 4 p.m. to start the hike.
