On this edition of our program, we speak with Wendell Berry, who's worked as a prolific and highly principled writer of fiction, essays, and poetry for the past 50 years. Mr. Berry has been named the Tulsa Library Trust's 2012 Peggy V. Helmerich Distinguished Author, and he'll be in town to accept this honor later this week. Indeed, he'll give a free-to-the-public presentation at 10:30am on Saturday the 8th at the TCCL's Central Library, at Fourth Street and Denver Avenue in Downtown Tulsa. At this event, he'll talk about his life and writings, answer questions from the audience, and sign copies of his various books. (Copies of his works will be made available for purchase.) Now in his late seventies, Mr. Berry owns and operates a Kentucky farm that's been in his family for several generations --- his efforts as writer, therefore, have long been focused on the relationship between humanity and the land, or (more broadly) between civilization and nature. He chats with us today on ST about the influential journey he himself has made in literature --- his has been an especially prestigious and prize-winning career --- and also about the ongoing decline of rural life America, and about how his many writings have lamented that decline. (You'll learn more about Mr. Berry's upcoming appearances in Tulsa at this link.)
Meet Wendell Berry, Winner of the 2012 Peggy V. Helmerich Distinguished Author Award
