“The letters are valuable for ecologists, students, and teachers of contemporary American literature and for those of us eager to know how these two distant neighbors networked, negotiated, and remained friends.” ― San Francisco Chronicle
“In Distant Neighbors , both Berry and Snyder come across as honest and open-hearted explorers. There is an overall sense that they possess a deep and questing wisdom, hard earned through land work, travel, writing, and spiritual exploration. There is no rushing, no hectoring, and no grand gestures between these two, just an ever-deepening inquiry into what makes a good life and how to live it, even in the depths of the machine age.” ― Orion Magazine
In 1969 Gary Snyder returned from a long residence in Japan to northern California, to a homestead in the Sierra foothills where he intended to build a house and settle on the land with his wife and young sons. He had just published his first book of essays, Earth House Hold. A few years before, after a long absence, Wendell Berry left New York City to return to land near his grandfather’s farm in Port Royal, Kentucky, where he built a small studio and lived there with his wife as they restored an old house on their newly acquired homestead. In 1969 Berry had just published Long-Legged House. These two founding members of the counterculture and of the new environmental movement had yet to meet, but they knew each other’s work, and soon they began a correspondence. Neither man could have imagined the impact their work would have on American political and literary culture, nor could they have appreciated the impact they would have on one another. Snyder had thrown over all vestiges of Christianity in favor of becoming a devoted Buddhist and Zen practitioner, and had lived in Japan for a prolonged period to develop this practice. Berry’s discomfort with the Christianity of his native land caused him to become something of a renegade Christian, troubled by the church and organized religion, but grounded in its vocabulary and its narrative. Religion and spirituality seemed like a natural topic for the two men to discuss, and discuss they did. They exchanged more than 240 letters from 1973 to 2013, remarkable letters of insight and argument. The two bring out the best in each other, as they grapple with issues of faith and reason, discuss ideas of home and family, worry over the disintegration of community and commonwealth, and share the details of the lives they’ve chosen to live with their wives and children. Contemporary American culture is the landscape they reside on. Environmentalism, sustainability, global politics and American involvement, literature, poetry and progressive ideals, these two public intellectuals address issues as broad as are found in any exchange in literature. No one can be unaffected by the complexity of their relationship, the subtlety of their arguments, and the grace of their friendship. This is a book for the ages. — Book promo @ goodreads.com
The trip to Sierra Vista yesterday was mostly a bust. First, I thought the VA had managed to get three appointment scheduled for yesterday but it turned out to be only two and I get to drive back again on the 16th. The eye exam went well and I have a new prescription that I’ll get filled when I come back to the area. When that might be will be determined by what my ‘doctor’ decides.
During my appointment with her she heard a ‘whistle’ when listening to my lungs so sent me off for some lung xrays. Late yeaterday afternoon I got a secure message from her that said “the chest X-ray showing bands typically indicates atelectasis (areas of the lung not fully expanded with air) or parenchymal bands (fibrotic scarring).” She wanted my permission to order a CT and I gave her a provisional OK if it could be done in November or July. I MUST get Desperado’s roof sealed on May and new tires in June. I have deposits for both those things so scheduling a CT scan during those months is a non-starter. I’m waiting for her response.
The day continued downhill with my stop at the CoOp to pick up yogurt and sauerkraut. The case of yogurt had been opened by some employee and one of the six ordered was sold plus the kraut was out of stock. Not much better luck at the gas pump with the price up to $4.299 which is the most I have paid since 28 September 2023 in Reserve where it is always very high. All the previous fill ups at over $4 were in 2022 at various locations. The American ‘public’ can put up with a lot but the price of gas is the death toll for Trump’s popularity, the anti-Trump crown will gather a LOT of new members.