The Art of the Commonplace

In The Art of the Commonplace, award-winning American writer, environmentalist, and farmer Wendell Berry presents an in-depth examination of the agrarian lifestyle. First published by Counterpoint in 2002, the twenty-one essays of this volume—collected from Berry's four-decade-long career as an arbiter of country life—delve into the reasons why the rural world is physically, psychologically, socially, economically, and spiritually more beneficial than the urban environments that house the majority of the modern population. In celebrating rural society, Berry champions some of the fundamental principles that comprise the collective American heart: hard work; pride in one's family, land, and labors; and an undeniable connection to the natural world that requires respect and nurturing at all costs.

Theologian Norman Wirzba, who edited The Art of the Commonplace, groups the essays into five separate themes. In the introduction, Wirzba offers an overview of Berry's life and work, highlighting the author's unique contributions to the field of agrarian philosophy.

The first section centers on geobiography; in other words, a work that offers a concrete personal narrative of Berry's farm and his experiences on it. In the essay "A Native Hill," he proves himself to be a master observer of both the majestic and the minute, the sublime and the mundane, the rich rewards and devastating struggles of running, managing, and working the land. Berry processes these dichotomies through his own history with the farm and through his understanding of how the modern world—the world separated from but inexplicably bound to his farm—works. "Sometimes I can no longer think in the house or in the garden or in the cleared fields. They bear too much resemblance to our failed human history—failed, because it has led to this human present that is such a bitterness and a trial. And so I go to the woods...and by nothing I do, things fall into place," he writes in "A Native Hill." "I enter an order that does not exist outside, in the human spaces."



The second section focuses on agrarian critiques of culture. Berry argues that because today's average person does not foster a relationship with the land they live on, they are anxious, depressed, stressed, tired, and wasteful. This creates a chasm of misunderstanding, a gulf between knowing and not knowing the world—and, by extension, oneself. "The unsettling of America," Berry calls it. He suggests that in most professions, people devote their entire careers to being little more than automatons, robots following the orders of their bosses. They do not see how they are part of a larger system and a wider net of service, of help, of contribution. As a result, they are only more cut off from the world and the vital role they play in it. The antidote to this is an agrarian lifestyle, where both the micro and the macro are on full display, and the farmer's contributions are essential to the harmony of the environment.

In the section on agrarian fundamentals, Berry describes what farm life entails. Make no mistake. This is not an easy lifestyle to devote oneself to; it takes a toll. Nevertheless, the riches on offer are so immense and multifaceted, and the benefit to humankind so vast, that the sacrifice, Berry argues, is one that more people need to make.

The fourth section deals with agrarian economics. Berry investigates ways that a return to the land can transform a society's entire financial system because it first transforms a person's relationship with the natural world. When we have a more personal understanding of the land, springing from our intimate, hands-on experience with it, we see that protecting the environment and promoting sustainability are not economic options. They are economic imperatives. In addition, when we take steps to encourage these protections and promotions, we are reinvesting in the land, for both ourselves and for future generations.



In the final section of the book, Berry looks at the agrarian lifestyle through the lens of religion. Virtually all religions, to some extent, place value on the natural world. But, Berry says, many have lost their way, buying into the commercialism of contemporary society and the never-ending quest for spiritual fulfillment. Berry's primary appeal is to Christians, encouraging them to better respect and treasure all aspects of God's creation. A deeper, holier reverence for the Earth—the most tangible of all God's work—will revolutionize how the masses interact with the natural world. Everything from the products one buys at the grocery store to the legislation passed by the government will change by regarding the land as the sacred place it is. Religions that solely emphasize nebulous spirituality are doing the Earth a great disservice; essentially, they are ignoring one of the most obvious sources of the Divine in everyday life. The sooner we accept and embrace that, the closer we will get to sustainability, to unity, and to heaven on Earth.