[In] Clearing, Wendell Berry tells the story of how he rescued a piece of Kentucky land, which had been neglected and abused by generations of past owners, and, through his own labors and the help of a few horses, brought it back to life….

Berry's self-imposed task is indeed a noble and an arduous one—just reading his descriptions of the work makes one's shoulders ache. The artistic goal is equally noble; in "Work Song," Berry states his wish to make "Memory, / native to this valley,… grow / into legend, legend into song, song / into sacrament." Unfortunately, something has gotten in the way of artistic fulfillment; is it, as the poet seems to suspect, the labor itself? (p. 955)

Whatever the cause, Berry's sense of his own failure is all too accurate. He venerates memory, but has taken his history not from his own recollections or those of area old-timers...