But you may have a long journey to travel to meet somebody in the innermost inwardness and sweetness of that room. You can’t get there just by wanting to, or just because the night falls. The meeting is prepared in the long day, in the work of years, in the keeping of faith, in kindness. (p. 110, on the room of love)

Welcome back to Hannah Coulter, by Wendell Berry. In this 2nd episode, Rhea and Shari discuss the ways Hannah’s story echoes deeply Genesis 2:15-24: the making of man and woman: “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall be one flesh.” (v. 24) They discuss grief, membership, a place on earth, work, and love. They discuss how Wendell Berry is insistent that all of these things are intertwined in such a way that one cannot truly flourish without the other. All are needed for a whole life. They talk about the musicality embedded in Hannah’s story; which leads to a lengthy discussion about the power and beauty of music and poetry to express truths and realities not reachable by words alone. They talk about the ways this section is embedded with all Wendell’s theses: on life, on work kindly done, on marriage as “one flesh.” Indeed, it all rises and falls on marriage.

Resources Mentioned on podcast:

* Jeremy Begbie on music and the arts

* Rhea’s Hannah Coulter Reading Guide (scroll down for the bookmarks pdf)

* R&W’s Substack page (for full access to essays, links, discussions):

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