Swamp
Nature and Culture
Anthony WilsonA cultural and ecological history of swamps – mysterious, mythologized and misunderstood landscapes.
From swamps and bogs to marshes and wetlands, Swamp ventures into the cultural and ecological histories of these mysterious, mythologized and misunderstood landscapes. It ranges from the freshwater marshes of Botswana’s tremendous Okavango Delta, to the notable swamps between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers and the peat bogs in Russia, the British Isles and Scandinavia. It explores ideas and representations of wetlands across centuries, cultures and continents, considering legend and folklore, mythology, literature, film and natural and cultural history.
As it plumbs the murky depths of their complex relationship with people all over the world, from the distant past to the uncertain future, Swamp provides an engaging, accessible, informative and lavishly illustrated journey into these fascinating and mysterious landscapes.
A cultural and ecological history of swamps – mysterious, mythologized and misunderstood landscapes.
From swamps and bogs to marshes and wetlands, Swamp ventures into the cultural and ecological histories of these mysterious, mythologized and misunderstood landscapes. It ranges from the freshwater marshes of Botswana’s tremendous Okavango Delta, to the notable swamps between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers and the peat bogs in Russia, the British Isles and Scandinavia. It explores ideas and representations of wetlands across centuries, cultures and continents, considering legend and folklore, mythology, literature, film and natural and cultural history.
As it plumbs the murky depths of their complex relationship with people all over the world, from the distant past to the uncertain future, Swamp provides an engaging, accessible, informative and lavishly illustrated journey into these fascinating and mysterious landscapes.
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Swamps, once deemed tangles of putrefaction and peril, are only now receiving the respect they deserve. That's the dramatic arc of this beautifully illustrated social and literary history of wetlands by Anthony Wilson . . . Historically, swamps have been home to a host of dark imaginings: the nine-headed Hydra of Greek mythology; the grim monster Grendel of Beowulf '
Natural History magazine
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This beautifully illustrated volume is one of a series, entitled Earth, which addresses the importance of both historical and cultural depictions of nature and its resources. The series augments the interconnectedness of ecosystems and humanity, and Wilson’s work fits well into this oeuvre because it explores the deadly legends and superstitions that are associated with
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swamps. Avoiding a didactic approach when highlighting their threatened status, Swamp raises awareness of the significance of preserving these wetlands by offering an accessible insight into real and fictional imagery of swamps, bogs, and marshes . . . The book gives a fascinating insight into the lives of those who have lived in swamp environments throughout different time periods across the globe . . . Wilson satisfyingly takes us through a journey of the swamp "from poisonous hell to unspoiled Eden".Folklore
Introduction: Terra Incognita
1 Swamp as Home: People of the Swamps
2 Swamp as Quagmire: Obstacle, Trial and Problem
3 Swmap as Horror: Monsters, Miasma and Menace
4 Swamp as Spectacle: Paradise, Sanctuary, Aesthetic Object
Postscript: Paradise Lost? The Swamps’ Uncertain Future
Appendix: An Array of Major World Wetlands
References
Bibliography
Acknowledgements
Photo Acknowledgements
Index
Anthony Wilson is an Associate Professor of English at LaGrange College in LaGrange, Georgia. He is the author of Shadow and Shelter: The Swamp in Southern Culture (2006).