Analysis of Wendell Berry's Views on Kentucky Writers and Culture

This essay provides an analysis of the literary culture in Kentucky, focusing on the perspectives of Wendell Berry. It explores the stagnation of literary culture in the region and the challenges faced by writers, such as outsourcing processes like book reviewing. The essay discusses Berry's concerns about preserving heritage through writing and reading, comparing the current state of affairs to the past. It highlights the importance of local engagement and the need for Kentucky's people to foster a better writing and reading culture. The essay also references the SQ3R reading process and the factors affecting writers in Kentucky, such as the lack of self-esteem by some local institutions. The author emphasizes the need for communal efforts to improve the situation and the availability of resources within Kentucky to support writers and readers.

Running head; WRITERS IN KENTUCKY
Writers in Kentucky
Name
Institution Affiliation

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Writers in Kentucky
Wendell Berry is concerned about the preservation of the heritage and that of the United
States through writing, publishing, and reading of books. The writer reviews the history of
writers and writing in Kentucky and observes that the literary culture in the region needs to be
improved (Berry, 2015). He compares the situation fifty years ago to the year 2015 and notes that
very little has been done in improving literacy and writerly culture. The writer argues that instead
to writers moving to other places where there is a better culture that will shape their writerly
profession, they should make the conditions in Kentucky better. There are a lot of resources in
terms of materials to write about, readers and printing and publishing press such as the
University of Kentucky. Wendell believes that it is the role of the people of Kentucky to make
writing and reading better and not Kentucky to take care of the people (Berry, 2015). The SQ3R
process helped me to come up with a list of questions to research about in my reading after I read
the topic. The active reading made possible by the questions enhanced my understanding and I
was later able to recite the main points that I obtained from the text while reviewing them.
Writing in Kentucky is faced by problems such as outsourcing some processes such as
reviewing written materials to other states (Simon, 2015). Wendell believes that the reviewing of
books locally upholds their authenticity which benefits the writers and the readers. Local
organizations such as Courier-Journal should review more books than outside organizations
such USA Today that has been reviewing most of the books. According to Wendell, the current
culture leads to silence in public discussions despite the many issues that require to be addressed
socially. Political issues, economic concerns, and social problems are not adequately addressed
unlike it would be the case if the local writing and literacy culture was better developed. Wendell
urges all the people to take charge of the situation since they have all the resources and the writer

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cites phobia as the cause of the current culture. The writer is accurate to relate the poor writing
culture to lack of local people to perform their roles in cultivating a better writing and reading
culture (Folks &Folks, 2015). Wendell also proposes that the problem of poor writing and
reading culture be solved communally. The examples are given of writers who have lived in
Kentucky their entire lives yet pursued successful careers prove to the people that all they require
is to be committed and disciplined.
Before I started reading I constructed a few questions as per the SQ3R reading strategy.
One of the questions was about the current state of writing and reading culture in Kentucky
relative to other periods in history. My other concern was to explore and highlight the factors
affecting writers and writing in Kentucky. My final question was on how the writer (Wendell
Berry) thought the highlighted problems would be solved. I predicted that some writers would
prefer to move to other states where they believe they would pursue successful careers. Wendell
Berry answered the question of the current reading and writing culture in Kentucky relative to
other times in history one that has stagnated since very little developments have been made. The
main factors affecting writers and writing in Kentucky is the lack of self-esteem by some local
institutions that prefer to outsource processes such as book reviewing to other institutions outside
Kentucky (Folks & Perkins, 2015). Wendell, therefore, proposed that the people of Kentucky
cooperate in changing the poor writing and reading culture. Wendell notes that there are a lot of
political, social and economic issues that the people of Kentucky can write and read about.

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Reference
Berry, W. (2015). Kentucky Writers in Kentucky. Appalachian Heritage, 43(1), 36-42.
Folks, J. J., & Folks, N. S. (Eds.). (2015). The World Is Our Home: Society and Culture in
Contemporary Southern Writing. University Press of Kentucky.
Folks, J. J., & Perkins, J. A. (Eds.). (2015). Southern Writers at Century's End. University Press
of Kentucky.
Simon, F. K. (Ed.). (2015). The WPA Guide to Kentucky. University Press of Kentucky.