Yesterday the sun crossed the celestial equator, moving from north to south—in other words, fall has arrived.  This morning I practiced my roping in the backyard, between the house and the barn. I imagined the days when I would ride to the end of the field on horseback to fetch the cows for milking.  Tonight the furnace turns on and off, and a coyote howls from the woods.  Autumn, and we of small harvest welcome a new season on the farm.  The bridle hangs from the rafters, where I placed it over fifty years ago.

September Journal Entry

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             The year’s odyssey had come to an end.  Fortunately, the journey would continue into another year.  But for the year just ended, I had been the storyteller.  Much like the Knight in Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, whether by chance or fate or accident, the cut had fallen to me, and I told the tale that I had sworn to tell.  What more is there to say?  Until some other time.

 

             Editors’ note: Richard Quinney is Professor Emeritus at Northern Illinois University. Two years ago he and his wife Solveig moved to Madison, WI, home of his alma mater, and a short drive from the family farm in Walworth County where he was raised. His images and field notes serve as visual and literary mediations of his childhood memories of life on the farm and the time he spends there today. The photos and journal entries above are excerpts from a larger collection, entitled, “Where Yet the Sweet Birds Sing” that was recently on display at the Wisconsin Academy Gallery. Dr. Quinney has also published several books of photos and reflections, including Journey to a Far Place: Autobiographical Reflections (Temple University Press, 1991), For the Time Being: Ethnography of Everyday Life (SUNY Press, 1998), Borderland: A Midwest Journal (The University of Wisconsin Press, 2001) and the forthcoming Where Yet the Sweet Birds Sing  (The University of Wisconsin Press, 2004).

             In addition to his artistic pursuits, Dr. Quinney continues to be professionally involved. He is currently co-editing a book (Storytelling Sociology: Narrative as Social Inquiry, with Ronald J. Berger).  He delivered a keynote address at the fifth annual Justice Studies Association conference this past June in Albany, NY.