Mat Feltner died at a hospital in Lincoln this week.
Obviously it wasn’t Feltner himself — he lives nowhere outside of the mind of Wendell Berry, the pages of his novels, and the imaginations of the many thousands of us who have loved him in those pages. Feltner is the sort of character Berry’s critics are thinking of when they say he idealizes rural life. But for those of us who have lived near rural communities long enough or perhaps have rural roots, we know that Berry didn’t have to reach far to find someone like Feltner: Many Mat Feltners seemed to grow from the ground, with and alongside their farms, and all over this country. My family has known several such men.
Login to read more
Sign in or create a free account to access Subscriber-only content.
Topics:
