Jeff Fearnside

Arizona (coming soon)

Just as Uzbekistan provided the perfect note on which to end my stay in Central Asia, so did Kentucky provide the perfect reintroduction to the United States.

I was extremely fortunate to be selected the sixth Writer-in-Residence at the Bernheim

Kentucky

Arboretum and Research Forest in Clermont, not only for the writing I was able to complete there (the largest project I worked on, a 50-page essay titled “Ships in the Desert,” was later published by New Madrid), but also for the many incredible people my wife and I had the pleasure to meet.

The Bernheim staff professionals are exactly that, consummately—friendly, helpful, and thoughtful human beings.

Interviewing Wendell Berry at his hillside farm was a special highlight, as was meeting the monks of Gethsemani, the former home of Thomas Merton.

My wife and I enjoyed every day of exploring the arboretum and forest, the entire surrounding region, with its standing history that dates to the American Revolution. And, of course, there’s the bourbon!

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