Author, essayist and poet Wendell Berry has been named winner of the Dayton Literary Peace Prize's lifetime achievement award. The award recognizes his steadfast promotion of the need for people to live in harmony with their environment.
The 79-year-old Kentucky-based writer of works highlighting the benefits of a simpler life backs up his words with his actions. He speaks out against strip-mining and other development he says damages the land. Meanwhile, he keeps a garden, raises sheep and lives largely technology-free on a hilly farm.
The Dayton honor is called the Richard C. Holbrooke Distinguished Achievement award, for the late U.S. diplomat who brokered the 1995 Dayton peace accords on Bosnia.
Berry says he is surprised and honored by the award.