GMBG – February – The Peace of Wild Things by Wendell Berry

Welcome to February’s GMBG, my monthly book:earthling dating agency.  My attempt at a good match this month is The Peace of Wild Things by Wendell Berry and Grev.

I have known Grev since I was a teenager, although in truth I don’t know him at all.  I have seen him perhaps twice in the last thirty years.  We are Facebook friends.  He is on my postcard list and I am never quite sure if he thinks this is a little odd or perhaps that I am stalking him.  Which in retrospect will only be made worse by me sending him a random book.  But I’m not, and the book isn’t random.  Let me tell you a few things that I have gleaned.  Forgive me if I am wrong.

Grev is a Cornishman, I thought I should mention that first, but he is also a citizen of the world.  He is politically savvy; he scrabbles in the mire in an attempt to find diamonds. Sometimes he despairs of folk, occasionally he is sad but, more often than not, he is very funny.  He is a musician and I have often been guided in a new direction by the tunes he shares.  He cares.  And I like him.  And he likes poems.

Wendell Berry is a Kentucky farmer who writes poetry and prose.  I cannot vouch for his agricultural skills, but his writing is exemplary.  Not only does he observe beautifully, submerging into his immediate surroundings, he is also a rebel, a revolutionary, a man who observes the larger picture and rails against it.  He can write a love poem to his wife, a tree or old friends and all are equally touching.  My copy of this book is kept close.  I delve frequently and am forever amazed by the joy his words give me.

I’m hoping they give a little joy to Grev too.