nightsongs

Hello friends! I’ve had another productive week in the studio. This week I have created another accordion book titled nightsongs. This week’s work is inspired by the poetry of Wendell Berry, specifically the poem “The Country of Marriage,” which can be found in his collection of poetry by the same title. If you’ve not heard of Mr. Berry, it would be worth your while to do a little research and learn a bit about his body of work. He is both a writer and a farmer. He was born in Kentucky in 1934, and he continues to live and work there. He is concerned with rural life, local agriculture, and farming communities. I believe it’s safe to say he is a Luddite; he wrote an article for Harper’s in the late eighties titled “Why I Am Not Going to Buy a Computer.”

I think part of my fascination with Berry is due to my upbringing. I was raised in the country and spent many hours playing on the farm and in the forest. The other half of my fascination stems from the fact that I am unable to put a label on Berry’s works or beliefs. I disagree with him (to some degree) about technology; hence my blog, my digital camera, and my love of television. And I don’t necessarily agree with him on his views of marriage, and yet I’m intrigued by what he has to say about the subject. I like that I can’t quite figure him out, because it requires much self-reflection.

With that in mind, I spent a great deal of time this week reading and re-reading the poem “The Country of Marriage” (which you can read here). Nightsongs is my attempt to unearth the poem’s meaning.