Farmbrarian

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Editor C.R. Lindemer delivers a humorous and heart-warming collection of stories in True Cow Tales: Literary Sketches and Stories by Farmers, Ranchers, and Dairy Princesses (2009).

Everyday folks who owned cattle or grew up alongside them share their memories in the 40 stories that comprise True Cow Tales. Contributions include loving tales about calves; recounted experiences of dairy princess pageants and tours; stories of roaming herds and subsequent round-ups; and tales that recall the strong family ties forged a midst this all.

Ranchers and farmers will surely relate to the stories, which showcase the wild antics and vivid personalities of the bovine breed.  Those who have never experienced farm life will find the stories enlightening and entertaining.

Overall, the literary voice of the text is elementary. But the raw writing style enhances the experience. The text reads like an oral history anthology. Each tale could have easily been told around the dinner table or lifted from the pages of an old journal. The archival quality of the stories is, by far, the strongest aspect of the book. True Cow Tales preserves stories about small-scale dairy farming that might otherwise have been lost. Luckily, a second volume is in the works.

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Like those who went back to the land in the widespread movement of the 1970’s, more and more people are now attempting to live self-sufficient lifestyles in cities and countrysides alike. For anyone captivated by the idea of breaking with mainstream society to pursue an agrarian lifestyle, this book will greatly pique your interest.

In Back from the Land: How Young Americans Went to Nature in the 1970’s and Why They Came Back (2007), Eleanor Agnew skillfully pieces together her experiences and those of many others as they participated in the Back to the Land exodus. She tells of their aspirations, their many struggles, and the reasons why many eventually entered back into mainstream living.

For younger audiences, Agnew’s story will shed light on some of the often-ignored, more challenging aspects of homesteading; and for those that were part of the movement, the tale will likely provide a poetic avenue for reminiscing.

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Nonfiction titles about ecology abound, but books that blend fictional characters with ecological truths are rare. Barbara Kingsolver’s Prodigal Summer (2000) is one such rarity.

Three stories sprout, flourish and eventually intertwine during the course of an Appalachian summer. Deanna Wolfe is the sole protector of a national forest who revels in the solitude of the woods; Lusa Maluf Landowski is an educated city-girl who marries into a farming family and struggles for acceptance; and the story’s third plot features feuding neighbors Nannie and Garnett–one prefers organic the other chemical control.

Each story blends heartwarming fiction with science. Kingsolver succeeds in fusing her talent as a storyteller, her formal education in biology, and her personal agricultural interests in this wonderful tale. Readers will fall in love with the characters and increase their understanding of predatory patterns, farming, and other topics simultaneously.

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Every sentence of Novella Carpenter’s Farm City: The Education of an Urban Farmer (2009) is marinated in the perfect combination of humor, eloquence, grit and ghetto. Once you start reading, you won’t be able to stop.

The story chronicles the author’s successes and failures while farming an abandoned plot of land in a crime-ridden part of Oakland, California. She first tells of adventures raising turkeys, including a hilarious scene in which she chases an escaped bird down a main Oakland thoroughfare. The second portion of the book recounts Carpenter’s experiences raising rabbits on the deck of her second-story apartment. And the final section features two 4-H bred pigs that quickly become neighborhood menaces. Stories of colorful characters encountered along the way are juxtaposed between stories of the ever-growing garden.

Urban farming has been widely discussed as a potential solution to food security and a way to satisfy the growing desire for local food. Carpenter proves that urban farming can do this, and more. She feeds her flocks and pigs with dumpster waste from nearby restaurants; brings unlikely community members together in her squatter space; mingles with culinary stars; and shares her bounty with many.

Novella Carpenter shows us the way of micro-farming in this wonderful book that will leave you with the urge to find your own slab of deserted concrete and begin growing.

Publisher’s Weekly also wildly praised Farm City, calling the book “utterly enchanting.” Read the full review here.

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Leslie Marmon Silko, a well-known Native American author, delivers rich prose and a captivating plot in Gardens in the Dunes (1999). The book is a rare work of fiction that fuses imaginary stories with historical and horticultural facts that will pique the interest of many.

Set at the turn of the 19^th century, Indigo and her older sister are the last members of a little-known tribe living in a desert garden oasis. The story follows the young girls as they struggle to survive persecution by American authorities.

Eventually ‘Indian police’ capture the pair and Indigo is sent to an Indian boarding school, while her sister is forced to move to a reservation. As the two displaced sisters try to reunite, the plot thickens. Silko includes a diverse character set and discusses a great number of historical issues, but the gardens in the dunes remain at the heart of the novel.

An intricate fictional storyline and reoccurring themes of botany, horticulture, and respect for the natural world will keep readers turning the pages. For a more thorough summary, see a brief synopsis in Time magazine or a longer review by the San Francisco Chronicle.

The great majority of our reviews will focus on nonfiction. But occasionally we all need a good fictional tale. Finding fiction that incorporates themes of agriculture, ecology, or other related subjects has proven difficult. If you have any suggestions, please share!

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In July 2005, artist Fritz Haeg arrived in Salina, Kansas to create an exhibition commissioned by the town’s art center. Haeg proceeded to replace the tough Bermuda grass of a selected Salina lawn with a completely edible landscape. Thus began the Edible Estates series.

Haeg warns in the preface that “this book is not intended as a how-to or technical resource for making your own Edible Estate” (11). A scrapbook is a better term.

The book (2008) begins with a series of essays condemning the front lawn, including excerpted text from Michael Pollan’s Second Nature: A Gardener’s Education.  Each essay presents a different perspective, but all of the authors agree that traditional lawns are a useless monoculture. The second portion profiles the Edible Estates Haeg designed throughout the United States and beyond. Reflections from the homeowners who volunteered their lawns are also included here. The next section of the book is comprised of testimonials from others who have transformed their front lawns independent of the Edible Estates project. A planting calendar for each climate zone, a selection of statistics, and a helpful bibliography conclude the book.

The hodge-podge theme is reinforced through the book’s style: matted black and white pages are followed by vibrant, glossy ones, which are proceeded by undyed, textured pages. Just as Haeg’s text combines varying styles and stories to create one-cohesive text, Edible Estates are created by fusing climates, communities, personal preferences, and other influences.

Collectively, lawns comprise more than 30 million acres in the United States (118); and just like lands used for conventional agriculture, most of this acreage is doused yearly with chemicals.  Although this book is far from comprehensive, it serves as an accessible introduction to alternative landscapes that are more productive and more environmentally friendly than the green that likely encircles your home now.

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“First make sure that your husband is doing the kind of work he enjoys and is best fitted for and then cheerfully accept whatever it entails.” –Mother

And thus begins the hilarious tale of Betty MacDonald as she recounts her time on the rugged coast of the Pacific Northwest where her husband decides to build his chicken ranch.

The Egg and I was originally published in 1945 and soared to stardom shortly thereafter.   The memoir provides readers with an entertaining glimpse into the joys, hardships and harrowing adventures of rural living before modern conveniences like electricity and running water.

Vary rarely will you find a story about farming that is as witty, captivating and beautifully written as The Egg and I. However, the book will appeal more to a female audience.

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Jane Goodall is a scientist, scholar, activist and humanitarian best known for her research on chimpanzees. In Harvest for Hope: A Guide to Mindful Eating (2005), Goodall collaborates with Gary McAvoy and Gail Hudson to illustrate how our eating habits impact the world.

Goodall begins with a short discussion on the fundamental role of food in our lives. She moves on to discuss harsh treatments on factory farms, hazardous fishing techniques, the benefits of vegetarianism, the plight of family farmers and the local foods movement. Issues surrounding obesity, hunger and education are also discussed. Most chapters conclude with simple suggestions on how you can help.

The content is thoroughly researched but is not laden with scientific terminology or complex data, making it approachable for all readers. Plus, anecdotes throughout give the scholarly work a more personal feel.

Harvest for Hope is a perfect primer for those wanting to learn about the environmental impact of our current food system. For readers well versed in the arguments against conventional agriculture, not much new information is presented; nonetheless, it is still a worthwhile read.

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David Mas Masumoto’s 1995 book Epitaph for a Peach: Four Seasons on My Family Farm won the Julia Child Cookbook Award for literary food writing; was a nominee in the writing on food category of the James Beard Foundation Awards; and received the San Francisco Chronicle’s Critics Choice Award. The praise is well deserved.

Epitaph for a Peach is a yearlong account of life on Masumoto’s family farm as he tries to find a market for his Sun Crest peaches. Through stories of his own attempts, Masumoto gives readers an inside look into the many challenges and rewards of sustainable farming. You’ll read about cover crops, the art of pruning trees, the purpose of a porch, forgotten fruit varieties, strong family ties, and much more. The story is eloquent and intimate, reading like an inner monologue of Masumoto’s thoughts as he roams his fields. You won’t find another like this one.

The folks at Point Reyes Books, located on the Northern California coast in Marin County, recommended the book. Like Masumoto, the store is committed to supporting “sustainable agriculture and living” through literature (Kinsella 18). Thanks for the recommendation!

Kinsella, B. (2006). “Peer Eye for Booksellers.” Publisher’s Weekly. 253 (14), 18-19.

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In her book Plant Seed, Pull Weed, Zen Buddhist teacher Geri Larkin tells of achieving spiritual goals through simple acts of gardening. She specifically focuses on the teachings of the ancient text The Ways of the Bodhisattva—which discusses generosity, enthusiasm, patience and other attributes.

The book is much more about Zen than gardening. In each chapter, Larkin uses lighthearted prose to illustrate ways to nurture your soul and improve your outlook on life. Some stories focus on gardening, but many others are about miscellaneous topics.

Plant Seed, Pull Weed is an enlightening read about finding joy in everyday events that gardeners and non-gardeners alike will enjoy.