The Core

Why We Are Here => Water Cooler => Topic started by: ergophobe on September 04, 2026, 08:42:30 PM

Title: RIP Wendell Berry
Post by: ergophobe on September 04, 2026, 08:42:30 PM
Nobody has mentioned it, but that is a sad passing for me.

I keep about 8 "emergency poems" on my phone. You never know when you'll need one. One of them is "Manifesto: The Mad Farmer Liberation Front" by Berry.

It has the line I quote often in these times: "Be joyful, though you have considered all the facts."

First published in 1971, I think it has more to say to us in 2026 than it did in 1971, with lines like "When they want you to buy something, they will call you."

And he long anticipated those of us who use obfuscators to cover tracks on the internet: "Be like the fox who makes more tracks than necessary, some in the wrong direction."

It begins:

QuoteLove the quick profit, the annual raise,
vacation with pay. Want more
of everything ready-made. Be afraid
to know your neighbors and to die.

It's worth a read
https://allpoetry.com/poem/12622463-Manifesto-The-Mad-Farmer-Liberation-Front-by-Wendell-Berry
Title: Re: RIP Wendell Berry
Post by: rcjordan on September 04, 2026, 08:49:49 PM
>Be afraid...to die.

I'm not afraid of dying. I'm afraid of old age. - Gloria Steinem
Title: Re: RIP Wendell Berry
Post by: ergophobe on September 05, 2026, 05:14:08 AM
> Gloria

Well... she did both. Made it to 92