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35th out of 68 books
—
118 voters
Trauma Farm: A Rebel History of Rural Life
by
Brian Brett
An irreverent and illuminating journey through a day in the life of the affectionately named Trauma Farm, with numerous side trips into the natural history of farming.
Beginning naked in darkness, Brian Brett moves from the tending of livestock, poultry, orchards, gardens, machinery, and fields to the social intricacies of rural communities and, finally, to an encounter wit...more
Beginning naked in darkness, Brian Brett moves from the tending of livestock, poultry, orchards, gardens, machinery, and fields to the social intricacies of rural communities and, finally, to an encounter wit...more
Hardcover, 384 pages
Published
September 4th 2009
by Greystone Books
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Fanny Keefer of ‘Studio 4’ in Vancouver recently interviewed the author, Brian Brett. His unusual take on life, and his sadness and outrage at the present state of agribusiness, factory farming and livestock breeding, caught my attention. I immediately requested his book from my local library. It was well worth the read. I have been quoting passages to anyone who would listen!
An odd, funny, poignant and concerned look at the demise of the small farm-holdings in rural Canada, and in BC in particu...more
An odd, funny, poignant and concerned look at the demise of the small farm-holdings in rural Canada, and in BC in particu...more
Sometimes, I feel like I am the only person in Canada who knows about and loves Rick Bass' books which include:
The Deer Pasture, Oil Notes, Wild to the Heart, Winter: Notes from Montana, The Ninemile Wolves, The Lost Grizzlies, The Book of Yaak, Where the Sea Used to Be, Fiber,"The Hermit's Story", and Colter: The True Story of the Best Dog I Ever Had.
Brian Bett is a local B.C. poet -sort of, he lives beyond the mists on Saltspring Island. TRAUMA FARM is a bit like Bass's books although the pros...more
The Deer Pasture, Oil Notes, Wild to the Heart, Winter: Notes from Montana, The Ninemile Wolves, The Lost Grizzlies, The Book of Yaak, Where the Sea Used to Be, Fiber,"The Hermit's Story", and Colter: The True Story of the Best Dog I Ever Had.
Brian Bett is a local B.C. poet -sort of, he lives beyond the mists on Saltspring Island. TRAUMA FARM is a bit like Bass's books although the pros...more
Brian Brett has managed to mix the bad news with the good news - that is, our factory farms, our cruel and unhealthy methods of raising and slaughtering animals, and the 'botanical holocaust' we are perpetrating with genetically engineered produce - with the alternatives to all these, that is, the small farms, the locally grown vegetables, and the people who are "rebelling" against a short-sighted concept of progress.
And the stories of his farm, his trees, animals, the people, of Salt Spring Isl...more
And the stories of his farm, his trees, animals, the people, of Salt Spring Isl...more
I really enjoyed reading this book. The title refers to a farm near here on one of the Gulf Islands. The "trauma" refers to all the hard work that is never ending, not that anything bad is associated with the farm. It's an affectionate term used by the owner/author.
More than telling stories about farming and the community of landowners, the author explains the differences between commercially processed foods and organically grown. At one point, all our food was organically grown. That changed de...more
More than telling stories about farming and the community of landowners, the author explains the differences between commercially processed foods and organically grown. At one point, all our food was organically grown. That changed de...more
This meditation on rural, farm life on Salt Spring island did stagger a bit towards the end but Brett's poetic descriptions of the land and, especially, the animals who live and die on his farm really drew me into his world. His observations of his healthy but hand to mouth existence in comparison to the factory farms that feed most of us did grow a bit repetitive but also made you wonder about the providence of your grocery meat. His talent shone when describing the personalities of the chicken...more
A lyrical account of an eighteen year day on a small farm on Saltspring Island. You will not look at supermarket vegetables or meat and meat products the same way you might do now after reading this book. Funny and compelling, this is the story of a love affair between one intensely engaged human and the earth upon which he lives. His interaction with animals and plants is the stuff of great storytelling. His sense of impending disaster is documented and described soberingly, but with an infecti...more
Brian Brett's book is an amazing mash of philosophy-poetry-science-naked-in-the-woods-anecdotes. This is an amazing journey encompassing an 18-year-long day on Brett's own farm, yet it spans the entire natural history of our earth, the growth of industrial agribusiness and his own resolve to keep "old school" farming even though he finds it a money losing proposition. I found it (for the most part) an inspiring and beautifully written love-letter to farm life. I did find it contained a surprisin...more
I want to recommend this book to anyone who's ever thought it would be cool to live on a farm and/or who's appalled (sometimes) by the urban life, its mechanized routines, the flavorless processed foods and addictive chemicals we consume here. Trauma Farm is part memoir, part history, part polemic, part poetry. Brett occupies the fairly unique position of being able to be both romantic about the joys of farming and quite cynical and critical about the near-impossibility of surviving while fighti...more
May 06, 2013
Deanna
added it
Lovely book about small farm life on Salt Spring Island. Structured as an 18 year long day, Brett takes us on a trip through the life of his farm from morning to night, as he walks the fences with the dogs, raises, and buries many animals and grows food in a luscious climate. Along the way he talks about the impact of humans on the earth, posits that all human interaction with nature is destructive and mourns the mass extinctions we're living through. Sounds sad? Yes, and beautiful and hopeful,...more
I was absolutely fascinated by this book. The scope of it went far beyond what I had been expecting. I thought there would be some anecdotes about farm life and living in a close rural community and Trauma Farm is so much more than that. The author also discusses biology and ecology, the history of agriculture, the current state of agribusiness, human nature, politics, philosophy...to sum it up like this really doesn't do it justice. I loved the wonderful bits of trivia about plants and animals...more
Very much appreciated reading this... as a new Vancouverite it's really great to read such a beautiful elegy to this area of the world.
The whole "18 year long day" thing is a bit contrived but I can understand why the author wanted to frame his book within the motif of a 24-hour time period. Actually I recently read Saturday by Ian McEwan that followed the same motif... both seemed a bit forced.
Nonetheless, the pace is leisurely and the anecdotes are excellently written and I can even sympathiz...more
The whole "18 year long day" thing is a bit contrived but I can understand why the author wanted to frame his book within the motif of a 24-hour time period. Actually I recently read Saturday by Ian McEwan that followed the same motif... both seemed a bit forced.
Nonetheless, the pace is leisurely and the anecdotes are excellently written and I can even sympathiz...more
One of the better books I've read this year (and it's December ;) ). An interesting mixture between romanticism and realism, it describes the live of poet Brett on his farm with a mixed in history of farming in general.
The frequent rants against factory farming and large scale agriculture doesn't distract from the whole.
The frequent rants against factory farming and large scale agriculture doesn't distract from the whole.
This Canadian poet-farmer has written an angry, lyrical, at times profound, book about his farm, its place in the world, and his how it defines his place in the world. Writing this (apparently) simple and lucid is the product of an enormous talent working ceaselessly to 'get it right.' For fans of Wendell Berry and Ed Abbey.
An irreverent but hopeful look at food self-sustainability - from walking naked on your property to dealing with livestock. Written by a writer - not someone cashing in on the 'local food/grow your own' bandwagon.
A fascinating and meditative and poetic look at farming and farming life from one of Canada's underrated writers. I'm going to review this book for my Ink column, so I won't write more about it. I really enjoyed it.
This is a fascinating read. Brian Brett, poet, author, and rebel farmer, lives on Salt Spring Island, a haven of sorts, where organic farmers, artists, writers, and musicians mingle in relative harmony. Brett helps us to see the world and its interconnectedness up close and personal, and from many different angles, like looking through a prism.
Brett explores the history of food production and the role of agribusiness today. He writes about the intricacies of rural life with a tremendous knowled...more
Brett explores the history of food production and the role of agribusiness today. He writes about the intricacies of rural life with a tremendous knowled...more
See my review on my blog "Jo's Bookshelf"
http://joanndionne.wordpress.com/2012...
http://joanndionne.wordpress.com/2012...
The introduction was kind of intriguing, but after that it rapidly nose-dived into boring. Couldn't force myself to keep reading.
Lots of trauma but many funny, funny stories in Trauma Farm. It's a real insight into a life immersed in the natural world of a small farm. Those of us who live in cities should be paying attention to voices like Brian Brett's.
gorgeous. occasionally preach-y, but echoing a love of all things natural that matches my own. Brian Brett is living my secret dream, and knows what I want to know.
Outlines what it is to live on a rural farm.
Hard to get into though...
Hard to get into though...
A wonderful look at life on a small farm.
Liz
Liz
Another CBC interview. The farm is on Salt Spring Island. Excellent book. I grew up on a farm so I could relate. Sometimes I felt there was a bit too much about the agri-business, maybe I just din't want to hear about some of the horrors. Small scale farming is much better. Quite a bit of humour in the book which I liked. He also had a nice way of describing things - different than I read before. I'd highly recommend this to anyone whether they grew up on a farm or in the country. A very good, f...more
Moving, quirky, contrarian - Brian Brett is a prophet in the sense that he rails against the illnesses of our factory-farm world and makes us uncomfortable with his truths. The book is by turns poetic, polemic, maddening, and inspiring. Trauma Farm follows an 18 year day in the life of a small, diversified family farm on Salt Spring Island. If you read it, be prepared to sometimes moved, and sometimes moved to chuck it across the room. It is worth reading.
Never have I ever been touched by a book like this. This is me.
I reviewed this more thoroughly here: http://thesupplementary.wordpress.com...
Loved this book! A little bit of story-telling mixed with fact and history. Very entertaining and informative. Just might have to buy this one for the home library!
It took me a ling time to get through this book. It's wonderfully written but dense and sometimes rambling.
May 19, 2013
Rachelle Ternier
marked it as to-read
May 15, 2013
Narayan
marked it as to-read
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