Hannah Coulter

Wendell Berry is a Kentucky-born writer, poet, essayist, and lifelong farmer whose work is inspired by the land he has worked for decades. Since his birth in 1934 in Henry County, where he still lives and farms, Berry has devoted his life to exploring the value of place, the rhythms of rural life, and the moral bonds that tie people to one another and the earth. His Port William series tells the stories of a small farming town and the generations of families who live and work there. Throughout the series, Berry critiques industrial agriculture and the isolating effects of modern consumer culture, while holding up community, simplicity, and stewardship as the cornerstones of a meaningful life.

Hannah Coulter, the seventh book in the series, offers a unique shift in perspective. Where earlier novels, such as Jayber Crow, Nathan Coulter, and The Memory of Old Jack, center on male narrators, Hannah Coulter gives voice to a woman looking back over her long life. Berry employed his wife, Tanya, to help capture Hannah’s female voice. Through Hannah’s eyes, Berry explores not just the events of war, marriage, and loss but also the quieter, domestic acts of care and endurance that often go unnoticed.