Wendell Berry and the Cultivation of Life: A Reader's Guide

"Over the past fifty years Wendell Berry has given witness to a vision of our life together that is proving to be indispensable and prophetic. Bonzo and Stevens have gleaned a rich harvest from this vision, showing that Berry's voice is one today's church cannot ignore. Wendell Berry and the Cultivation of Life is an excellent introduction and guide for those seeking a better, healthier, saner world."--Norman Wirzba, research professor of theology, ecology, and rural life, Duke Divinity School

"How do you recommend this book without resorting to the kind of salesmanship that Wendell Berry has railed against throughout his career? Not by hyperbole, but with imperatives. Here are three. Know this: Wendell Berry is not the messiah, though this unruly Baptist bears a more than passing resemblance to that Baptist who first prepared Christ's way. Read Berry; if you want to be a faithful disciple in the American context, he is a necessary conversation partner. Buy, read, and mark this book; it is an excellent introduction to Berry's complex work--indeed, the best one I know."--D. Brent Laytham, assistant professor of theology, North Park Theological Seminary

"Once one is exposed to the comprehensive wit of Wendell Berry, there is no going back. The question 'What Would Wendell Berry Do?' comes to inform all manner of decisions in our buying, selling, and doing. In a treatment that is both wide-ranging and robustly evangelical, Bonzo and Stevens bring Berry's witness to bear upon one dim-witted economy after another with an invigorating account of Berry's more magnanimous economic vision. In a constant call to look harder at the world we're in, creation is imagined not as a resource for endless plundering but rather the place where God's kingdom, the great economy, comes, offering the hospitality that sustains, our only home and our only hope."--David Dark, author, The Gospel According to America

"Wendell Berry and the Cultivation of Life is an insightful and readable guide to the work of one of the most important living American writers. Steeped in a deep knowledge of all of Berry's work--fiction, essays, poetry--and conversant with many scholars in a variety of academic disciplines, Bonzo and Stevens illuminate why Berry has attracted such a following of readers over the past four decades. If you have never read Berry, this book will serve as a very good introduction. If you are a Berry connoisseur, this book will deepen your understanding."--Steven Bouma-Prediger, professor of religion, Hope College

"Wendell Berry's vision of a new economy of value, in which even a fallen sparrow is important, is clearly and critically opened up to the church by Bonzo and Stevens. I hope that this book will be read alongside Berry's work, and that Christians will see Berry's voice for the prophetic gift it is--a call to live more deeply in the Kingdom of God."--Ragan Sutterfield, author and farmer

"Bonzo and Stevens, both university professors, tease out the spiritual and cultural themes found in more than four decades of essays, fiction and poetry by Berry. They argue that Berry's thought spans an ideological spectrum that increases the importance and urgency of his views, and they look carefully at how his central ideas about creation, place, community and hospitality lead to individual and social health and healing. Concluding chapters apply Berry's thought to churches and higher education--both objects of Berry's criticism--to offer ideas for improving both institutions. . . . Berry deserves attention, and the authors have patiently worked to enlarge the circle of those who appreciate Berry's consistent call for meaningful living."--Publishers Weekly

"[The authors] demonstrate that Berry's vision of healthy communities built on fidelity to neighbor, creation and creator is not only relevant, but necessary and urgent. This accessible overview of Berry's work will make new readers of the uninitiated and send long-time fans back to their dog-eared copies of Jayber Crow and Home Economics."--Relevant

"Bonzo and Stevens have given us a coherent and insightful way to navigate the waters of Berry's consistently countercultural message. . . . Berry's project grows before us as an embodied attempt to embrace both our human finitude--our inherited brokenness--and our created capacity for good and community, while remaining wary of any endeavor to entirely resolve this tension. Throughout, Bonzo and Stevens show concrete ways to live these principles."--Image Update

 

"[The authors] have taken Berry's vast body of work--novels, essays, poetry, nonfiction and short stories--and dissected and analyzed it, creating a comprehensive overview perfect for readers who want to dig deep into Berry."--Ann Byle, Grand Rapids Press