Writer Wendell Berry died on Monday, August 31, at the age of 92, according to a report published September 7.
Berry was a writer who focused on the importance of rural land and studied under Wallace Stegner at Stanford University.
Berry authored nine novels featuring characters who farmed and cared for the land. His work included a sizable body of essays and poems, including 16 poems featuring a character known as a mad farmer who critiqued corporate-dominated agriculture and consumerism.
In addition to his writing, Berry was known for public leadership and civil disobedience. He protested against various policies he found harmful, including the Vietnam War, the death penalty, and both coal-fired and nuclear power plants. He also expressed opposition to abortion.
While a Christian, Berry was a critic of organized religion regarding its abstract notion of compassion. He advocated for a simple, rooted life and often wrote in longhand with a pencil, with his wife Tanya using a manual typewriter to edit and complete his work.
Ethnobotanist Gary Nabhan, an admirer of Berry, stated that Berry did much to broaden the environmental movement by including working landscapes since the first Earth Day in 1970.
Taylor Brorby, an assistant professor of English at Montana State University, described a complicated relationship with Berry. Brorby recalled a final meeting in Kentucky where Berry asked if he ever experienced writer's block and if he was happy.
Berry's work included the poem "The Peace of Wild Things," which was written in 1968 during resistance to the Vietnam War and the draft.
