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Water at the Roots: Poems and Insights of a Visionary Farmer
In a society uprooted by two world wars, industrialization, and dehumanizing technology, a revolutionary farmer turns to poetry to reconnect his people to the land and one another.
A farmer, poet, activist, pastor, and mystic, Britts (1917–1949) has been called a British Wendell Berry. His story is no romantic agrarian elegy, but a life lived in the thick of history. As his country plunged headlong into World War II, he joined an international pacifist community, the Bruderhof, and was soon forced to leave Europe for South America.
Amidst these great upheavals, his response – to root himself in faith, to dedicate himself to building community, to restore the land he farmed, and to use his gift with words to turn people from their madness – speaks forcefully into our time. In an age still wracked by racism, nationalism, materialism, and ecological devastation, the life he chose and the poetry he composed remain a prophetic challenge.
A farmer, poet, activist, pastor, and mystic, Britts (1917–1949) has been called a British Wendell Berry. His story is no romantic agrarian elegy, but a life lived in the thick of history. As his country plunged headlong into World War II, he joined an international pacifist community, the Bruderhof, and was soon forced to leave Europe for South America.
Amidst these great upheavals, his response – to root himself in faith, to dedicate himself to building community, to restore the land he farmed, and to use his gift with words to turn people from their madness – speaks forcefully into our time. In an age still wracked by racism, nationalism, materialism, and ecological devastation, the life he chose and the poetry he composed remain a prophetic challenge.
179 pages, Paperback
Published March 20, 2018
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
May 9, 2018
3.5 Stars
Part biography, part collection of poetry, Water at the Roots gives a multi-faceted look at the life and writings of Phillip Britts. The height of his poetry coincided with WWII which influenced some of his writings. Pacifist, husband, farmer, poet, all of his roles are reflected in his poetry.
I received an advanced copy through Netgalley in return for an honest review.
Part biography, part collection of poetry, Water at the Roots gives a multi-faceted look at the life and writings of Phillip Britts. The height of his poetry coincided with WWII which influenced some of his writings. Pacifist, husband, farmer, poet, all of his roles are reflected in his poetry.
I received an advanced copy through Netgalley in return for an honest review.
September 3, 2022
“War is the extreme expression of division between people… but people are beguiled into this catastrophic trap by countless tiny steps of division. It begins way back in the virtuous little dissociations of oneself from the weaknesses that are all too evident in one’s neighbor.”
Britts’ giftedness as a poet and essayist, his community’s pilgrimage away from churches whose leaders had begun to serve nationalized war machines in Europe, his spirit of pioneering and pastoral leadership, all stem from a single source. In this way, Britts found the path of the famous Japanese kensei Miyamoto Musashi, who “from one thing, [knew] ten thousand things.” Devotion to koinonia peaceable community under the rule of Christ, was Britts’ “one thing.” From it he reaped insight into farming, human nature, and even the course of the twentieth century.
Now Britts’ insights are publicly available for the first time. He had meant for his book, never completed but presented in such form as could be, to be called Written in Soil; a fitting title for a farmer who knows the transience of his efforts. Yet collected here is something deeper than soil, more enduring than mere furrows of a field or even a thoughtful man’s brow: nourishing wisdom, welling beneath the surface - Water at the Roots.
Disclaimer: I was given a copy of this book by the publisher in exchange for my honest review.
Britts’ giftedness as a poet and essayist, his community’s pilgrimage away from churches whose leaders had begun to serve nationalized war machines in Europe, his spirit of pioneering and pastoral leadership, all stem from a single source. In this way, Britts found the path of the famous Japanese kensei Miyamoto Musashi, who “from one thing, [knew] ten thousand things.” Devotion to koinonia peaceable community under the rule of Christ, was Britts’ “one thing.” From it he reaped insight into farming, human nature, and even the course of the twentieth century.
Now Britts’ insights are publicly available for the first time. He had meant for his book, never completed but presented in such form as could be, to be called Written in Soil; a fitting title for a farmer who knows the transience of his efforts. Yet collected here is something deeper than soil, more enduring than mere furrows of a field or even a thoughtful man’s brow: nourishing wisdom, welling beneath the surface - Water at the Roots.
Disclaimer: I was given a copy of this book by the publisher in exchange for my honest review.
December 19, 2018
A great book to read during poetry month. Philip Britts was a farmer, poet, husband, pastor, father and somewhat of an activist, though I'm sure he wouldn't have classified himself as one. He lived in the early 1900's, was born and raised in England, but then moved to Paraguay and lived in a Christian community called the Bruderhof. This book is a lovely collection of his poems and essays, along with some narrative commentary written by David Kline, an Amish farmer. Perhaps one of the the best summaries of this work is in Britt's own words:
The more a community becomes divorced from the simplicity and faith of a rural life, the greater danger it is in losing inner stability. One sees this so plainly in the world today, where the trend to industrialisation is proceeding more than ever.
How apropos for today in the 21st century. Britts believed that working the land was not just an act for sustenance but a spiritual act of wonder and worship. He lived simply, but was anything but simple in his thought life. His poetry and essays reveal a deep, sensitive mind and a loving, generous spirit. Highly recommend this book. It inspires and refreshes.
The more a community becomes divorced from the simplicity and faith of a rural life, the greater danger it is in losing inner stability. One sees this so plainly in the world today, where the trend to industrialisation is proceeding more than ever.
How apropos for today in the 21st century. Britts believed that working the land was not just an act for sustenance but a spiritual act of wonder and worship. He lived simply, but was anything but simple in his thought life. His poetry and essays reveal a deep, sensitive mind and a loving, generous spirit. Highly recommend this book. It inspires and refreshes.
December 17, 2024
Water at the Roots is a most unique read. Anyone with a love of farming, belief in tending the soil with integrity, and full-faith in a living God will be moved by it. David Kline writes a helpful foreword while Jennifer Harries weaves relevant facts about Phillip Britts’s life throughout as his poems and other writings are woven into 5 chapters.
Born a Brit, Britt resists World War II engagements as a pacifist. Living in a communal group, leaving England for Paraguay, establishing with others a growing communal society while occasionally working for governmental testing of farming practices and determining sustainable crops at times, his life was short (30 or so years). His poetry and writings reflect his faith, his belief in the balance of production and reverence for sustaining the soil, and a deep-set knowledge in the need for, and the power of, collectively working among differences—do unto others as we wish done unto us.
This is one of the most loving reads for me in 2024.
Born a Brit, Britt resists World War II engagements as a pacifist. Living in a communal group, leaving England for Paraguay, establishing with others a growing communal society while occasionally working for governmental testing of farming practices and determining sustainable crops at times, his life was short (30 or so years). His poetry and writings reflect his faith, his belief in the balance of production and reverence for sustaining the soil, and a deep-set knowledge in the need for, and the power of, collectively working among differences—do unto others as we wish done unto us.
This is one of the most loving reads for me in 2024.
July 14, 2023
"The work of the Spirit is glowing love: first towards God - Who is life, Who is love itself- and then from this towards all other people. It means the complete surrender of self to outgoing and outpouring love, not a soft and sentimental love in the smoky fires of our own feeling. Love is going out from ourselves. Love is living for God - the dedication of our whole being to the service of life."
Finished after a deliciously slow journey... and immediately started reading back to front again, literally. :)
Finished after a deliciously slow journey... and immediately started reading back to front again, literally. :)
June 14, 2018
Beautiful book -everything the poems, the photos even the introduction, this lovely tribute to earth should be given as a gift to a loved one. This is a book to give to someone who means much to you and who knows the importance of stopping to breathe.
Don't read this on Kindle as i did (my copy was from netgalley) get the book this should be on the shelf or table where you'll pick it up on the way to other things and you'll slow down. i'm looking forward to picking up a real copy.
Don't read this on Kindle as i did (my copy was from netgalley) get the book this should be on the shelf or table where you'll pick it up on the way to other things and you'll slow down. i'm looking forward to picking up a real copy.
May 9, 2018
Summary: The collected poems and essays of Philip Brits, a farmer and pastoral leader of a Bruderhof community in Paraguay, where he died in 1949 at the age of 31.
Philip Brits lived a short and obscure life, dying in Paraguay in 1949 of a deadly tropical fungal disease. He was born in Devon, England in 1917. The first poem in this collection was written in 1934, and expresses both his search for and awareness of God and a theme that would run through all his poetry of observing carefully the book of creation, and discerning in this the character and presence of the creator. He graduated from the University of Bristol with a degree in horticulture in 1939 and married Joan that June. In 1936, he had joined the Peace Pledge Union, and as England rushed toward war, Brits more deeply embraced pacifist convictions. Eventually, he learned of a Christian pacifist agricultural community in the Cotswolds known as the Bruderhof.
He gave himself to the work, told stories to the children, and his poetry began to reflect his life in the agricultural community. A sung version of one of these. "The Song of the Hedgers and the Diggers" may be heard on the trailer for this book. Eventually, the community either needed to give up its German members or emigrate. When the opportunity came to go to Paraguay, they took it, establishing a community they called Primavera. Quickly he became one of the most astute agriculturalists in the area, and was called upon increasingly in consultations. During one trip to Brasil, he apparently contracted a deadly tropical fungus, that first manifested a couple years later with painful mouth sores, and would eventually claim his life. In his last year, he became a pastor to the community and even as his energies waned, he reflected and wrote and taught on everything from care of the land, to the fundamental choice he believed faced every human between the spirit of the beast and the Spirit of Love. He wrote:
"This spirit alone can bring that peace which is in absolute opposition to war and death and destruction. Peace which is born of love and filled with love is the only true peace. It is not just a cessation of war, a shaking of the ripe fruit while the tree goes on growing to bear again in due season. Peace can only arise when the tree is cut down and rooted out. In this mighty work, love uses weapons which are in absolute opposition to the weapons of the beast. Instead of the Good Man, the poor in spirit; instead of the confidence in the progress of man, the sorrowful recognition of the helpfulness of man; instead of self-satisfaction, the hungering and thirsting for righteousness; instead of judgement, mercy; instead of the doctrine of many paths, singleness and pureness of heart; instead of coercion, reconciliation; instead of success, persecution for righteousness sake."
So much of his work is characterized by a seamless connection between the practice of farming and the practice of faith. The title of this work comes from one of his last essays where he writes of faith as being like "water at the roots" that sustains us in the heat of life. He draws the connection between our dependence upon the grace of God for faith, even as we depend upon the grace of God for rain.
A poem, "Quicken the Seed" reflects a similar connection between farming and faith:
Quicken the seed
In the dark, damp earth.
Nourish our need,
God of all birth.
Thou art the seed
That we bury now.
Thou art our need,
God of the plough.
Bury the spark
Of our own desire
Deep in the dark,
God of the fire.
After the night
When the fight is won,
Thou art the light,
God of the sun.
EASTER 1948
I am not much of a critic of poetry. My hunch is that most of the poetry here is good but not great. What makes this work great is the seamless integrity between poetry, essays and the life of the man. He has been called a "British Wendell Berry." In many ways, he embraced a far more difficult life than Berry--a costly affirmation of pacifism in wartime Britain, a communal existence, emigration, and establishing a viable community under primitive conditions, an integrity of living with the land, and suffering that came from his embrace of that land. What comes through is the wonder of living in this creation with all its challenges, a sense of the tragedy of a world at war with itself when the Prince of Peace beckons, and a life permeated by the grace of God. Like Berry, he awakens us to what it is to live in harmony with the land one farms. Like Berry, he recognizes the treasure of life in a place, and in a community. Like Berry, he reminds us of the deep, pervasive presence of the grace of God in all of creation. The God whose grace waters us at the roots, sustaining our lives.
____________________________
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary review copy of this book from the publisher via LibraryThing in exchange for an honest review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.
Philip Brits lived a short and obscure life, dying in Paraguay in 1949 of a deadly tropical fungal disease. He was born in Devon, England in 1917. The first poem in this collection was written in 1934, and expresses both his search for and awareness of God and a theme that would run through all his poetry of observing carefully the book of creation, and discerning in this the character and presence of the creator. He graduated from the University of Bristol with a degree in horticulture in 1939 and married Joan that June. In 1936, he had joined the Peace Pledge Union, and as England rushed toward war, Brits more deeply embraced pacifist convictions. Eventually, he learned of a Christian pacifist agricultural community in the Cotswolds known as the Bruderhof.
He gave himself to the work, told stories to the children, and his poetry began to reflect his life in the agricultural community. A sung version of one of these. "The Song of the Hedgers and the Diggers" may be heard on the trailer for this book. Eventually, the community either needed to give up its German members or emigrate. When the opportunity came to go to Paraguay, they took it, establishing a community they called Primavera. Quickly he became one of the most astute agriculturalists in the area, and was called upon increasingly in consultations. During one trip to Brasil, he apparently contracted a deadly tropical fungus, that first manifested a couple years later with painful mouth sores, and would eventually claim his life. In his last year, he became a pastor to the community and even as his energies waned, he reflected and wrote and taught on everything from care of the land, to the fundamental choice he believed faced every human between the spirit of the beast and the Spirit of Love. He wrote:
"This spirit alone can bring that peace which is in absolute opposition to war and death and destruction. Peace which is born of love and filled with love is the only true peace. It is not just a cessation of war, a shaking of the ripe fruit while the tree goes on growing to bear again in due season. Peace can only arise when the tree is cut down and rooted out. In this mighty work, love uses weapons which are in absolute opposition to the weapons of the beast. Instead of the Good Man, the poor in spirit; instead of the confidence in the progress of man, the sorrowful recognition of the helpfulness of man; instead of self-satisfaction, the hungering and thirsting for righteousness; instead of judgement, mercy; instead of the doctrine of many paths, singleness and pureness of heart; instead of coercion, reconciliation; instead of success, persecution for righteousness sake."
So much of his work is characterized by a seamless connection between the practice of farming and the practice of faith. The title of this work comes from one of his last essays where he writes of faith as being like "water at the roots" that sustains us in the heat of life. He draws the connection between our dependence upon the grace of God for faith, even as we depend upon the grace of God for rain.
A poem, "Quicken the Seed" reflects a similar connection between farming and faith:
Quicken the seed
In the dark, damp earth.
Nourish our need,
God of all birth.
Thou art the seed
That we bury now.
Thou art our need,
God of the plough.
Bury the spark
Of our own desire
Deep in the dark,
God of the fire.
After the night
When the fight is won,
Thou art the light,
God of the sun.
EASTER 1948
I am not much of a critic of poetry. My hunch is that most of the poetry here is good but not great. What makes this work great is the seamless integrity between poetry, essays and the life of the man. He has been called a "British Wendell Berry." In many ways, he embraced a far more difficult life than Berry--a costly affirmation of pacifism in wartime Britain, a communal existence, emigration, and establishing a viable community under primitive conditions, an integrity of living with the land, and suffering that came from his embrace of that land. What comes through is the wonder of living in this creation with all its challenges, a sense of the tragedy of a world at war with itself when the Prince of Peace beckons, and a life permeated by the grace of God. Like Berry, he awakens us to what it is to live in harmony with the land one farms. Like Berry, he recognizes the treasure of life in a place, and in a community. Like Berry, he reminds us of the deep, pervasive presence of the grace of God in all of creation. The God whose grace waters us at the roots, sustaining our lives.
____________________________
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary review copy of this book from the publisher via LibraryThing in exchange for an honest review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.
March 5, 2023
A beautiful work of poetry which points us to the One beyond the world in front of us.
August 27, 2022
2.5 stars
I found the biography bits by the editor interesting, and there were some good parts in the essays by Britts, but I really didn't connect with the poetry at all.
I also found it interesting that Britts apparently subscribed to Darwinian evolutionary theory, despite his otherwise deeply Christian beliefs.
I found the biography bits by the editor interesting, and there were some good parts in the essays by Britts, but I really didn't connect with the poetry at all.
I also found it interesting that Britts apparently subscribed to Darwinian evolutionary theory, despite his otherwise deeply Christian beliefs.
October 8, 2020
One of the great tragedies of the modern world is the complete divorce of the city dwellers from nature and the land. . . .
Water at the Roots: Poems and Insights of a Visionary Farmer by Philip Britts is partially a collection of poetry and partially a biography. Farmer-poet Philip Britts was born in 1917 in Devon, England. Britts became a pacifist, joined the Bruderhof, and during World War II moved to South America. There, in 1949, he died of a rare tropical illness at the age of 31, leaving his wife, Joan, with three young children and fourth on the way.
Water at the Roots is a collection of poetry about a simpler life. The introduction is written by David Kline an Amish farmer from Ohio who is editor and author. Britts is described as having a human touch, a love for the land, and working with nature. He was a nurturer and not an exploiter. The poems reflect a simpleness that is missing in agriculture and in life today. Although very religious, his tone is welcoming and not critical. A communal life is exercised in the Bruderhof. The Bruderhof is a Christian communal colony described in Acts 2, 44-47 and Acts 4.
Outside of religion and farming Britts' main passion was peace. He was a conscientious objector throughout WWII. Many who did not want to fight eventually did so once Britain was attacked. Britts remained against the war. He saw the good that could be done with the resources and lives destroyed by the war.
His song shall shake the souls of politicians,
And while the craven church still watches, dumb,
The hands of men shall grasp at tools, not weapons,
And womanhood shall sing that peace has come.
The poems alone will take the reader back a couple hundred years in their tone and style. Without the biographical information included on Britts, one would no guess these poems were written in the 20th century. The love of the land and the lifestyle are far removed from today's industrial agriculture, GMOs, profits, and chemical fertilizers is a refreshing change. The religious aspects are gentle and open to all regardless of belief. Britts is a man who brought out the best in human nature and invited others to follow.
Available March 20, 2018
Water at the Roots: Poems and Insights of a Visionary Farmer by Philip Britts is partially a collection of poetry and partially a biography. Farmer-poet Philip Britts was born in 1917 in Devon, England. Britts became a pacifist, joined the Bruderhof, and during World War II moved to South America. There, in 1949, he died of a rare tropical illness at the age of 31, leaving his wife, Joan, with three young children and fourth on the way.
Water at the Roots is a collection of poetry about a simpler life. The introduction is written by David Kline an Amish farmer from Ohio who is editor and author. Britts is described as having a human touch, a love for the land, and working with nature. He was a nurturer and not an exploiter. The poems reflect a simpleness that is missing in agriculture and in life today. Although very religious, his tone is welcoming and not critical. A communal life is exercised in the Bruderhof. The Bruderhof is a Christian communal colony described in Acts 2, 44-47 and Acts 4.
Outside of religion and farming Britts' main passion was peace. He was a conscientious objector throughout WWII. Many who did not want to fight eventually did so once Britain was attacked. Britts remained against the war. He saw the good that could be done with the resources and lives destroyed by the war.
His song shall shake the souls of politicians,
And while the craven church still watches, dumb,
The hands of men shall grasp at tools, not weapons,
And womanhood shall sing that peace has come.
The poems alone will take the reader back a couple hundred years in their tone and style. Without the biographical information included on Britts, one would no guess these poems were written in the 20th century. The love of the land and the lifestyle are far removed from today's industrial agriculture, GMOs, profits, and chemical fertilizers is a refreshing change. The religious aspects are gentle and open to all regardless of belief. Britts is a man who brought out the best in human nature and invited others to follow.
Available March 20, 2018
July 6, 2018
This is a thoughtful little book which tells the life-story of, and includes poems and essays by, Philip Britts, an early 20th-century Englishman who converted to a strict and pacifist form of Christianity, joined the Bruderhof community, refused to support the UK in its fight with Germany in WWII, and ultimately immigrated, along with most of the rest of his community, to Paraguay, where he spet the rest of his short life (he died in 1949) preaching, farming, and writing poetry. He's no Wendell Berry, but his thoughts about choosing and maintaining an agrarian lifestyle are wise and serious, and his poetry often beautiful. Here's a couple to chew over, one hopeful, one sad:
The Plough
Now let us take a shining plough
And hitch a steady team,
For I have seen the kingfishers
Go flirting down the stream.
And sure the Spring is coming in--
It's time the soil was turned,
It's time the soil was harrowed down,
And the couch grass burned.
For we have waited for the chance
To turn the farrow clean,
And we have waited for the cry
Of the peewits come to glean.
Now there's work from dawn 'til sunset
For it's time the plough awoke,
And it's time the air was flavoured
With the couch fire smoke.
Distraction
The wisdom of the prophet
And his words of gold
surged around my brain--
And away they rolled;
Though my mind was set to hear them
They brushed at me and flew,
Because my spirit did not feel
The things the prophet knew.
The wisdom of the prophet
And his ringing words
Said less to my ears
Than the song of birds;
Because all the bird-wings
Beat about my ears
with sea winds and breakers
And loneliness and tears.
I went out from the prophet
And his drumming word,
Groping in the darkness,
Shaken and stirred:
For my spirit was full
Of the sad wild birds,
Of people grieving
Beyond all words.
I could not longer listen
To the prophet's words,
For my ears were filled
By the wings of birds:
Of weary living people
Beyond the weary sea,
Bleeding and crying,
Because they are not free.
The Plough
Now let us take a shining plough
And hitch a steady team,
For I have seen the kingfishers
Go flirting down the stream.
And sure the Spring is coming in--
It's time the soil was turned,
It's time the soil was harrowed down,
And the couch grass burned.
For we have waited for the chance
To turn the farrow clean,
And we have waited for the cry
Of the peewits come to glean.
Now there's work from dawn 'til sunset
For it's time the plough awoke,
And it's time the air was flavoured
With the couch fire smoke.
Distraction
The wisdom of the prophet
And his words of gold
surged around my brain--
And away they rolled;
Though my mind was set to hear them
They brushed at me and flew,
Because my spirit did not feel
The things the prophet knew.
The wisdom of the prophet
And his ringing words
Said less to my ears
Than the song of birds;
Because all the bird-wings
Beat about my ears
with sea winds and breakers
And loneliness and tears.
I went out from the prophet
And his drumming word,
Groping in the darkness,
Shaken and stirred:
For my spirit was full
Of the sad wild birds,
Of people grieving
Beyond all words.
I could not longer listen
To the prophet's words,
For my ears were filled
By the wings of birds:
Of weary living people
Beyond the weary sea,
Bleeding and crying,
Because they are not free.
December 4, 2018
The final category for the 2018 Book Riot Read Harder Challenge was "An assigned book you hated (or never finished)." I'm playing a bit fast and loose with this category, because Water at the Roots was never an "assigned" book, nor did I "hate" it, but I did receive it from LibraryThing's Early Reviewers' Program back in February, and having started the book, I set it down on my night stand and didn't pick it back up till last week (end of November). I consider writing a review as an "assignment," and since I didn't read the book in any way near a timely fashion, it falls into the "didn't finish" category. All that said, Water at the Roots is a collection of poems written by Philip Britts, an English conscientious objector who joined a religious community in England, then, with that community, moved into the jungle of Paraguay in 1941. Connecting the poems is a narrative account of Britts' life and thought, drawn largely from his own writings and concerning the immorality of war, the nature of peace, agriculture and spirituality. Much of Britts' writing comes across as mini-sermons, perhaps not surprising as his community chose him as pastor to one of their churches in Paraguay. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in reading Spirit-driven poetry, or who is interested in a life outside the norms of our consumer oriented culture. The books is of especial interest to those who feel we have lost our way in today's world.
April 4, 2024
I was gifted this book by a member of the Bruderhof at a local gathering for Plough readers. The book is a blend of biography, poetry, and essays, as the life of a radical Christian pacifist and collectivist plays out across the tumult of the mid-twentieth century. It wasn't an easy life, marked by struggle, surrounded by war and hunger. Britts' earnest and deeply held faith is front and center, as are his poems and meditations on faith and agriculture, a faith marked by humility and herculean physical effort, and his willingness to give his entire self for what he believed.
To be entirely honest, it took a while for me to engage. The blending of his story and his writing rises much as an albatross takes wing. His earliest poems run and flap along gamely, but for all of their effort and honesty, they take a while to soar.
But as his life progresses, his poems grow deeper, his writing fills with hard won insight, and the book rises to another level. The stark existential requirements of the settlement in Paraguay, and all that he and his kindred endured? They're the crucible in which his work becomes something of remarkable insight and beauty. His death from a lethal fungal infection at thirty one feels all the more tragic.
A three point seven.
To be entirely honest, it took a while for me to engage. The blending of his story and his writing rises much as an albatross takes wing. His earliest poems run and flap along gamely, but for all of their effort and honesty, they take a while to soar.
But as his life progresses, his poems grow deeper, his writing fills with hard won insight, and the book rises to another level. The stark existential requirements of the settlement in Paraguay, and all that he and his kindred endured? They're the crucible in which his work becomes something of remarkable insight and beauty. His death from a lethal fungal infection at thirty one feels all the more tragic.
A three point seven.
July 14, 2018
While the generally rhyming poetry of Philip Britts isn’t the type I’m particularly drawn to I did appreciate how the book was set up well with the added writings and commentary on his life balancing out the book well. I admit I’m hardly familiar at all with the Bruderhof (or similar) communities so it was interesting to get an idea of their perspectives. I’m struck by Britts clear love of and respect for nature and even his fellow man as well as his resolve to be true to his beliefs even when they caused him hardship. I found inspiration in this book and I’m thankful for being able to read something that shows the kindness in us humans instead of the weaknesses and misdeeds we seem to be inundated with in a lot of our current news and bestsellers.
July 17, 2018
Very different, found some exquisite poems in here as well as information about a utopian community that I'd never heard of previously. Philip Britts was in addition to being a poet, a farmer, an essayist was also a individual dedicated to peace and believed that the best way to serve God was to farm the land and live a Christian life. He was an astute observer of nature and became the pastor of the Bruenhof community -- first in Germany, then England and then Paraguay. His poems celebrate nature, decry war and our brutality to one another and touch on the spiritual aspects of living.
Interesting read. My favortie poems were the Carol of the Seekers and The Stillness -- very evocative.
Interesting read. My favortie poems were the Carol of the Seekers and The Stillness -- very evocative.
June 1, 2018
An excellent insight into the lives of the Bruderhof, who left England during the war and began a new community in Paraguay. We've visited the Australian Bruderhof community, have some great connections and know a little, but I am fascinated to read more and hear the personal stories and motiations of those who have made the community their home. I wouldn't say I am a poet, and I don't always 'get' poetry, but some in particular of Phillip's poems I found particularly moving. His 'articles' and thoughts on the connections between Creation, life and faith, the sadness of the violence of war, and community are moving and challenging.
April 19, 2018
This is both a collection of poems and a biography of Philip Britts, a farmer, who was away ahead of his time and he spoke about it.
There's this phrase that summed up my reading experience and in part the purpose of the book "One of the great tragedies of the modern world is the complete divorce of the city dwellers from nature and the land..."
Thank you NetGalley for the eARC.
There's this phrase that summed up my reading experience and in part the purpose of the book "One of the great tragedies of the modern world is the complete divorce of the city dwellers from nature and the land..."
Thank you NetGalley for the eARC.
June 3, 2018
This is a fabulous book. The poems are beautiful and evocative, and make me want to go out and work in my garden. I feel a sense of kinship with other farmers and gardeners by reading these poems. This book is definitely worth picking up, especially if you are a fan of Wendell Berry or Mary Oliver. Gorgeous poetry here!
October 11, 2018
Idealistic and admirable with some mediocre poetry. I was restless by the last third and was glad to wrap it up.
May 4, 2018
This book of poetry, essays, and biography offers readers a glance into the short but profound life of English poet, pacifist, farmer, and pastor Philip Britts (1917-1949).
Although not much is known of his early life, I was intrigued by the mention of a motorbike accident that "proved to be a turning point in his life." Since this was not expounded on, I could only infer that perhaps this event, along with the turbulent times of the 1930s, helped propel and strengthen his resolve to be an active seeker and follower of Jesus.
Britts comes across as a quiet, thoughtful man who wasn't afraid to stand up for what he believed in, as attested in one memorable anecdote of a day at church, during the time England was preparing for war against Nazi Germany. The minister's sermon "became a call to arms" and he was basically demonizing Germans, calling them monsters. Britts stood up, approached to the minister, and asked "in the slow, deliberate way that farmers have," if he could address the congregation, which the minister agreed to, and Britts said: "Jesus said we should love our enemies."
When I read that, I found myself cheering him on. That had to take some courage!
His deeply felt Christian values eventually take him to joining the Peace Pledge Union, and later, the Bruderhof community, moving with the community to Paraguay during WWII. During these last nine years of his life, while helping to build the Bruderhof settlement and growing his own family, he utilized his background in horticulture to experiment with developing and improving crops that would flourish in Paraguay's climate. In an article he wrote for a farming magazine, he warned, with acute foresight, against the then blossoming post-WWII industrialized agriculture that wreaks havoc on ecosystems with its intensive farming of monoculture crops, depletes soils of nutrients and structure, relies on heavy chemical use, and is inhumane in its treatment of animals and farmworkers:
"…nature will rebel, and bring down the measure of subjection by such hard steps as erosion, sterility, and disease."
Also, in the same essay, Britts explains:
"Man's relationship to the land must be true and just, but this is only possible when his relationship to his fellow man is true and just and organic."
I have highlighted so many lines and passages that it's hard to choose a favorite, but perhaps that's testament to a good, interesting read, and perhaps because I personally found it affirming (especially as someone who cares about the environment and also wonders, if man is, as Britts wrote, "becoming a more noble creature?"). Despite having been written many decades ago, his words feel timely to the things going on in the world today.
It's unfortunate that there is only so much of Britts' work (he died at age 31), but what is left behind makes for a remarkable study.
Thank you to Edelweiss and Plough Publishing for providing the uncorrected download-copy for review (which did not affect my opinion/rating).
Although not much is known of his early life, I was intrigued by the mention of a motorbike accident that "proved to be a turning point in his life." Since this was not expounded on, I could only infer that perhaps this event, along with the turbulent times of the 1930s, helped propel and strengthen his resolve to be an active seeker and follower of Jesus.
"What matter the eyes have seen so much that the soul is color-blind?"
(from his poem "Alone")
Britts comes across as a quiet, thoughtful man who wasn't afraid to stand up for what he believed in, as attested in one memorable anecdote of a day at church, during the time England was preparing for war against Nazi Germany. The minister's sermon "became a call to arms" and he was basically demonizing Germans, calling them monsters. Britts stood up, approached to the minister, and asked "in the slow, deliberate way that farmers have," if he could address the congregation, which the minister agreed to, and Britts said: "Jesus said we should love our enemies."
When I read that, I found myself cheering him on. That had to take some courage!
His deeply felt Christian values eventually take him to joining the Peace Pledge Union, and later, the Bruderhof community, moving with the community to Paraguay during WWII. During these last nine years of his life, while helping to build the Bruderhof settlement and growing his own family, he utilized his background in horticulture to experiment with developing and improving crops that would flourish in Paraguay's climate. In an article he wrote for a farming magazine, he warned, with acute foresight, against the then blossoming post-WWII industrialized agriculture that wreaks havoc on ecosystems with its intensive farming of monoculture crops, depletes soils of nutrients and structure, relies on heavy chemical use, and is inhumane in its treatment of animals and farmworkers:
"…nature will rebel, and bring down the measure of subjection by such hard steps as erosion, sterility, and disease."
Also, in the same essay, Britts explains:
"Man's relationship to the land must be true and just, but this is only possible when his relationship to his fellow man is true and just and organic."
I have highlighted so many lines and passages that it's hard to choose a favorite, but perhaps that's testament to a good, interesting read, and perhaps because I personally found it affirming (especially as someone who cares about the environment and also wonders, if man is, as Britts wrote, "becoming a more noble creature?"). Despite having been written many decades ago, his words feel timely to the things going on in the world today.
It's unfortunate that there is only so much of Britts' work (he died at age 31), but what is left behind makes for a remarkable study.
"Above the forest rolls the moon
And banishes the pall of night,
She floods this weary darkened world
With soft and soothing light."
(from his poem, The Healing Moon)
Thank you to Edelweiss and Plough Publishing for providing the uncorrected download-copy for review (which did not affect my opinion/rating).
December 31, 2025
I bought this book after seeing the author described as the British Wendell Berry. It is a biography, that is poetry collection and essay collection, woven together to tell the story of a life tragically cut short by tropical disease. Philip Britts was a conscientious objector in England at the outbreak of WWII.
This compelling quote is taken from one of his essays.
"Division in all its forms is the weapon of the beast. All the subtle barriers of mine and thine, pride and fear, certainly, and all their relatives: ambition, self-esteem, indifference to others, my responsibility as steward of my goods, and so on"
This book takes on extra meaning in light of current state of our polarized society.
This compelling quote is taken from one of his essays.
"Division in all its forms is the weapon of the beast. All the subtle barriers of mine and thine, pride and fear, certainly, and all their relatives: ambition, self-esteem, indifference to others, my responsibility as steward of my goods, and so on"
This book takes on extra meaning in light of current state of our polarized society.
March 11, 2018
Philip Britts was born in 1917 and died in 1949. He lived through a historical era in time. Amongst other things he was a writer and a poet and a insightful activist all throughout his life till the end. A fascinating story with lovely poems. Thank you Goodreads for this free book!!!!!
November 21, 2017
Water at the Roots is a collection of poetry, prose, and photographs. The words that form these works are well-chosen and beautifully arranged. Recommended for lovers of the literary. There is also an informative introduction that sets the stage for the book.
April 15, 2019
This one didn't really grab me. It is the story of a British Bruderhof farmer who lived during World War Two. He died very young in Paraguay, leaving behind a wife, children and his poetry and other writings.
It has a bit of a Wendell Berry flavor about it, but just didn't seem to resonate with me and shake me the way Wendell Berry's writings do. That said, you might think differently, so if you like books in this vein, you should give it a try.
It has a bit of a Wendell Berry flavor about it, but just didn't seem to resonate with me and shake me the way Wendell Berry's writings do. That said, you might think differently, so if you like books in this vein, you should give it a try.
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