When I was eleven years old, I saw the words "practice resurrection" tattooed on my camp counselor's ankle. I asked her what it meant, and she showed me this poem. It wrecked me. As I read the last line, tears fell down my cheeks; I'd discovered my new favorite writer.
I thought saying it was your favorite poem was probably on overstatment for how good it is...then I read it. Instantly one of my favorites. I am very thankful for this.
Thanks for this. I did not know what Wendell Berry was and is so feisty. After I resigned from a position I served in for 19 years, I bought Berry's poetry book, A Timbered Choir: The Sabbath Poems 1979-1997, as part of my exercise to find a Sabbath rest. In my notes I wrote that Berry's poetry makes a closer inspection of nature and infuses wonder back into our consideration of the everyday...The poem shared here points me back to the wonder Berry has for his land, his countrymen and his God, I believe.
Masterful poem. Punchy and prophetic. Thanks for the intro, that’s helpful for those who need a bit more palantir. Wendell is one of my essential carry through life poets.
Forgive the audacity of a cringy plug: I wrote an Easter poem for my recent sermon: The Mistaken Gardener. It was inspired by this manifesto but I altered its focus towards church life.
One of my all-time faves. Lived on my fridge for years.
A framed print of it lives on top of my piano.
Methinks it's time to put it back on my fridge.
When I was eleven years old, I saw the words "practice resurrection" tattooed on my camp counselor's ankle. I asked her what it meant, and she showed me this poem. It wrecked me. As I read the last line, tears fell down my cheeks; I'd discovered my new favorite writer.
That’s beautiful! Thank you so much for sharing.
My favorite poem too :)
I thought saying it was your favorite poem was probably on overstatment for how good it is...then I read it. Instantly one of my favorites. I am very thankful for this.
Thanks for this. I did not know what Wendell Berry was and is so feisty. After I resigned from a position I served in for 19 years, I bought Berry's poetry book, A Timbered Choir: The Sabbath Poems 1979-1997, as part of my exercise to find a Sabbath rest. In my notes I wrote that Berry's poetry makes a closer inspection of nature and infuses wonder back into our consideration of the everyday...The poem shared here points me back to the wonder Berry has for his land, his countrymen and his God, I believe.
Masterful poem. Punchy and prophetic. Thanks for the intro, that’s helpful for those who need a bit more palantir. Wendell is one of my essential carry through life poets.
Forgive the audacity of a cringy plug: I wrote an Easter poem for my recent sermon: The Mistaken Gardener. It was inspired by this manifesto but I altered its focus towards church life.
https://open.substack.com/pub/ericblauer/p/practicing-mundanity?utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web