A Place in Time

In this eleventh volume spanning 1864 to 1991, Wednell Berrys entire Port William membership returns—filling gaps, keeping faith, and proving that a single place across time is one of American literatures great achievements

The story of the community of Port William is one of the great works in American literature. This collection, the eleventh volume in the series, is the perfect occasion to celebrate Berry’s achievement. It feels as if the entire membership—all the Catletts, Burley Coulter, Elton Penn, the Rowanberrys, Laura Milby, the preacher’s wife, Kate Helen Branch, Andy’s dog, Mike—nearly everyone returns with a story or two, to fill in the gaps in this long tale. Those just now joining the Membership will be charmed. Those who’ve attended before will be enriched.

For more than fifty years, Wendell Berry has been telling us stories about Port William, a mythical town on the banks of the Kentucky River, populated over the years by a cast of unforgettable characters living in a single place over a long time. In A Place in Time, the stories dates range from 1864, when Rebecca Dawe finds herself in her own reflection at the end of the Civil War, to one from 1991 when Grover Gibbs widow, Beulah, attends the auction as her home place is offered for sale.