By Wendell Berry

There has been no shortage of accolades used to describe author Wendell Berry - "American Hero," "modern day Thoreau" and "man of letters" are just a few. The farmer, essayist and author of several books, including "The Unsettling of America: Culture & Agriculture," is considered one of the intellectual driving forces behind the sustainable agriculture and localism movements. I've read much of his work - his essay "Why I am Not Going to Buy a Computer" is quite good - but I was recently moved by a collection of poems published in 2011 titled, "Leavings." Criticisms on argi-business and technology are Berry's bread and butter, and there are elements of that here, though "Leavings" is also a thoughtful reflection on time, love, marriage, friendship and solitude. It just might be the intellectual equivalent of a raw egg and Worcestershire sauce for people coming down from the hangover of a hectic and commercialized holiday season.

- ALEX NUNES