When I shared with a friend that I was moving to North Chatham he commented that I was entering into my “Wendell Berry era.” Unfamiliar with Berry’s writing, I was unsure how to take this remark, so I decided that there was only one thing to do–read some Wendell Berry!
I decided to start with his fiction, the first being “Nathan Coulter”, originally published in 1960. The novel is the first in what has come to be known as the Port William stories. To date there have been eight novels and fifty-seven short stories that follow life in the fictional, rural Kentucky town known as Port William.
“Nathan Coulter” is sort of a coming of age story for our protagonist, a young boy born into a farming family near Port William (1967). After the death of his mother, Nathan and his brother move in next door with their grandparents and Uncle Burley. Nathan and Burley form a particularly close relationship as they navigate loss, growth, and even some fun, together.
After finishing “Nathan Coulter” I immediately hit play on the next novel, “A Place on Earth”. This story is a few years after Nathan Coulter and during WWII. Nathan, and most of the young men in the town, are away at war, leaving their loved ones suspended in a painful sort of waiting. The story focuses this time on Matt Feltner, a friend of Uncle Burley, whose son is off in the war. Simultaneously, we are introduced to and follow the stories of others in the community navigating their own life changes. The multiple story lines, and the way they interact with each other, are incredibly powerful and a testament to Berry’s skill as a writer.
While listening to the stories, I came to realize why my friend might compare life in North Chatham to that in Port William. For starters, they are both rural areas rooted in a history of agriculture that have been forever changed by the exploitative nature of agribusiness and capitalism. But more than that, they are rooted in community. Throughout the stories, the neighbors in Port William come together to navigate tragedy–whether it be the untimely loss of a mother or a farm flooded over, we witness community members coming together to help each other despite differences. Not unlike what I’ve observed in my four months here in North Chatham. So to my friend I say that I agree–I have entered my Wendell Berry era.
- Library Director, Shea Wert