Wendell Berry argued for a vision of stewardship in which we, the creatures to whom God gave dominion over the planet, answer to Him for its care and keeping.
He was a poetic writer, a soulful thinker, a man of deep conviction, an unashamed advocate for America's farms and ranches and small towns. He loved the working landscapes of this country as much as he loved its "wilderness."
He was friendly with another great nature writer of his day; Edward Abbey, who hated ranching, and butted heads with his friend Wendell from time to time.
Their back-and-forth in Earth First! magazine over Berry's essay "Preserving Wildness" presents two views of land use and is as relevant today as it was when these two brilliant men bickered politely and publicly, to our enduring edification, in 1988.
