On The Peace of Wild Things: A Letter from the Editor
by Kimberly Phinney
A Letter from the Editor
Dear Reader,
As the editors and I were trying to find a fall theme for the literary journal that would live up to the huge success of the Spring Journal’s Collection: Renaissance, I was reading the poetry of Wendell Berry. We discussed some ideas: Do we pick another “Re” themed word? Do we complement Renaissance in some way? Or do we do something completely different? In the previous journals, it seemed the theme always came so easily.
As last, I felt like I was at a creative impasse, and I didn’t like it.
I pondered, “God, where are you leading me?” each night as I fell asleep to the deeply profound and spiritual poetry of Wendell Berry. Then, I’d wake with lines to write because of his words. I saw God everywhere through his rugged, simple, and often austere lens. I was better for it.
My time in his verse almost felt opposite to the high art and vivid colors of the Renaissance. Berry’s work was about stripping ourselves down to spirit, love, and the earth—only. The more I walked out into the poetic wilderness of Berry’s world, the more at home and perceptive I became about the natural and spiritual world.
His meditations were breathing new life into me as a faithful creative, writer, and servant.
And then it hit me. God was talking to me all along—and it was through Berry’s The Peace of Wild Things. With this epiphany, I KNEW we had ourselves a GORGEROUS theme that was all her own: THE PEACE OF WILD THINGS.
As the journal submissions rolled in, I became very ill again, as many of you know. But through all of the ER visits and my hospitalization, I was kept by your words, prayers, and the peace of wild things. It feels providential that God delivered this theme to me (and to us) for such a time as this. So many feel fractured and worn in this season—a season that ought to be magical. So many are desperate for hope and shalom in this season—a season that ought to be brimming over with both. So, it is the editors’ and my deep desire that you find God’s goodness in this verse and art, as you venture into the peace of wild things—be it in the great outdoors or the deep interiors of a fellow traveler’s soul.
We pride ourselves in being a community journal, so you will find writers who are quite established with many publications and awards alongside emerging writers who are just beginning their journey. We celebrate and love them all as God’s image bearers! So, please read deeply, comment widely, connect richly, as we celebrate our largest journal yet—with nearly sixty faithful creatives.
For someone so full of words, I cannot begin to articulate what you all mean to me. The Way Back to Ourselves saved me in my darkest hour, and I hope in some small way it is saving you too, as we journey together toward wholeness and holiness.
You belong here,
me
THE PEACE OF WILD THINGS
by Wendell Berry
When despair for the world grows in me
and I wake in the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children’s lives might be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.
I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief. I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting with their light. For a time
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.
Come! Be enchanted by peace, the wild, and art inspired by the work of Wendell Berry and God’s natural world! God bless you!
Oh, and one more thing. I wrote to Wendell Berry to tell him about his impact on my life and the production of our literary journal. And guess what? He wrote back! There is a chance he may read your very words. Here’s hoping!
KIMBERLY PHINNEY
Kimberly Phinney is a writer, professor, and counselor. She’s been published in Christianity Today, Ekstasis, Fathom, The Dewdrop, Humana Obscura, Calla Press, and more. She is founder of www.TheWayBack2Ourselves.com. Her poem “Exalted Ground” was nominated for the Pushcart Prize in 2024. Her poem “An Ode to Hard Dark Nights” won the Audience Choice Award in the Bright Wings Poetry Contest with Ekstasis and Makers and Mystics in 2024. And her small collection of poetry from Of Wings and Dirt won runner up in Fathom Magazine’s Poetry Contest in 2023.
A doctoral candidate in community care and counseling, Kimberly holds an M.Ed. in English and studied at Goddard’s Creative Writing MFA program. She was featured on Good Morning America for a national award and teaching through critical illness. Her poetry collection, Of Wings and Dirt, was a bestseller on the Amazon Charts in 2024. Her second book of poetry, Exalted Ground: Poems of Praise and Lament for the Living, will be published in 2025.