The Way of Ignorance and Other Essays by Wendell Berry

Bufkinite@evpl — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 20:19:00 GMT

Wendell Berry is by now surely the “elder statesman” of living responsibly in a sustainable fashion, with strong local allegiances to a place in every sense of the word: the local ecology, culture, community, and people. He seems to be aware of the fact that, if not a statesman, he certainly qualifies as “elder,” being now well into his seventy-fourth year, and he frequently mentions his elderly status in passing in these essays:

"I know well that I am hardly the first aging man to look back on his youth as 'a better time,' and perhaps I am sufficiently aware of the dangers. It is true nevertheless that in my lifetime I have witnessed a lot of destruction. And I can’t say that I believe this destruction has been compensated by any of the gains we designate as 'progress.'"

He also honors his elderly status in a way he hasn’t in his previous 16 books of essays: the third and final section of this book gives the stage to two younger writers in the same agrarian and communitarian vein: Daniel Kemmis and Courtney White.

Berry's writing continues to develop its plainsong character, saying what he thinks clearly in words so carefully chosen that he makes it look easy. It is nothing short of astounding that he can put such deep thought into such straightforward language. Here's a two-sentence example:

"We have to have a sort of pity for the CEO of a polluting corporation who desires wealth, healthy children, and a vacation in the restorative purity of nature. And surely we have to extend the same pity to those who are sure that 'it takes a village to raise a child' but forget that it takes a local culture and a local economy to raise a village."

Moreover, the brevity he began to develop in essays that appeared in Home Economics (an out-of-print gem which EVPL unfortunately does not have) has matured as well. The essay “Contempt for Small Places” runs less than two pages, and “Rugged Individualism,” and “We Have Begun,” both run less than three pages.

You would be mistaken to the point of foolishness however, if you assumed that he wasn’t saying very much. The book is divided into three sections, which I think of loosely as “essays about the political situation,” “essays about the cultural situation,” and “essays about how we bring the two into harmony.”

Highly, highly recommended.

"Zen and Now: on the Trail of Robert Pirsig and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" by Mark Richardson

MediaPhile@evpl — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 03:23:00 GMT

No, you aren't seeing double. The cover of this biographical travelogue features an out-of-focus motorcyle.

I was in grad school in 1974 when "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" was published. I never read it or its British precursor, "Zen in the Art of Archery" -- I wasn't a big fan of either Zen OR motorcycle maintenance. Starting small, sales of the book grew by word of mouth, eventually totalling in the millions, with translation into 27 languages. It became a sort of cult classic with philosophers as well as the counter-culture.

Fast forward 30+ years, and a motorcyle enthusiast and sports writer named Mark Richardson has reproduced Robert Pirsig's 17-day motorcycle trip from Minneapolis to San Francisco. Pirsig, travelling with his young son Chris and a married couple, had roughed it -- camping every evening. Richardson, armed with GPS and a laptop, did the trip alone and stayed in cheap motels.

Richardson cleverly intersperses his narrative of his own trip with biographical information about Pirsig. Pirsig, who claimed an IQ of 170, had degrees and both science and philosophy. He taught at several colleges, but constantly rankled adminstrators with his refusal to follow the institutional rules. He was eventually diagnosed as a schizophrenic and endured a series of shock treatments, which he later claimed destroyed a large chunk of his personality.

Pirsig returned to his wife and two sons and took a job as a writer of technical manuals. He had earlier flown small planes, but now become a motorcyclist. He found he loved not only the open road, but also the connectedness that resulted from maintaining his own bike. Hence his cross-country trip and the book of philosophical ruminations that resulted. Publication brought financial independence, including an ocean-going yacht, but not peace. Both sons had their own problems, as did his marriage. And his second book, "Lila," was a relative flop.

I was intrigued enough by this book to attempt to read "Zen and the Art of Motocycle Maintenance," but I must admit that I only made it through about the first 75 pages. I guess I find Pirsig's story more interesting than his thoughts.

Books Blog : reviews, philosophy

The Way of Ignorance and Other Essays by Wendell Berry

"Zen and Now: on the Trail of Robert Pirsig and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" by Mark Richardson