Reading in Place: Jayber Crow
“This is a book about Heaven, but I must say too that . . .
I have wondered sometimes if it would not finally turn out to be a book about Hell.”
Mid-Week Discussion Session (hybrid, in-person & zoom options)
Friday or Saturday Humanities Field Day, In-person at The Berry Center Farm
Cost: $75
Participant limit: 15
What’s your favorite Wendell Berry novel? Over and again, people respond: Jayber Crow. Experience this moving story through discussion and a field retreat in Henry County, Kentucky. Guided by Farm & Forest Institute Director Leah Bayens, you’ll traipse through field and forest, town and country, connecting to the places represented in the novel and contemplating how lived experiences and stories kindle affection for people, land and community. In this Reading in Place study, participants will receive a reading guide filled with discussion questions, supplemental resources (maps, articles, images, et al.), and hands-on exercises–to be used while reading at home and while at The Berry Center Farm, exploring the landscapes captured in Jayber Crow.
Follow the barber’s full circle life on and above the banks of the river–from his earliest memories as an orphaned boy to his spiritual coming-of-age and then on to his Port William homecoming and membership. Like the neighbors whose hair he trims, Jayber struggles and grieves; he rejoices and loves. Yet he finds himself simultaneously within and outside their lives, bearing witness to the tragedy of industrialism in farming. Although Jayber does not farm, he is the consummate agrarian. He is a person capable of fitting his mind to the land. He is not the man born to farming, but he is a piece of the fabric that supports the farmers–all from the perch of a hand-me-down barber chair, from the heights of the secret “Grandstand” gathering spot, and from a long-legged river camp house, quietly snipping hair.
Current Offerings
This workshop will return in the Winter/Spring 2027 season. Join our mailing list to be notified of new dates.
*Reduced-rate scholarships are available for farmers and residents of Henry County.
Via Zoom or in-person
$75
Limit 15 participants
