Farewell, Wendell Berry

I was sad to hear of the death of Wendell Berry on Monday. But why should I be sad? He was 92 and had lived a good life, mostly on his own terms, from what I could see. But the death felt like "one of the greats has left us" moments. I remember reading him in college, so his writing has been with me a long time.Back in my undergraduate days, I felt somewhat embarrassed for liking someone whose work was so accessible. Now, of course, I think it's one of his more important traits. Berry's work has seemed vital for decades now.What I value most these days is his ability to never sink into gloom for too long. He manages to sound prophetic (one of the prophet's duties being to call people back to right living, as well as to warn), without setting up a house in the land of the apocalypse. He always comes back to one of his main themes: ". . . hope is one of our duties. A part of our obligation to our own being and to our descendants is to study our life and our condition, searching always…