Booksology When I received my copy, I filled out post-its and notes in the margins. There are a lot of exclamation points in this book. It’s shocking and hopeless considering how common and widespread swamps, swamps, and swamps were. In the US and UK, these bastions of environmental diversity have been nearly annihilated to make way for agricultural land. Now that the damage we have caused is becoming clearer, some regions are desperate to restore these natural wetlands to their original state. Some people have a deep disdain for local wetlands, including their impact on the local economy and transportation, and want them gone forever.
creativity and observational skills
As a reader and writer, I’ve learned that almost anything can spark creativity. Reading Proulx’s ideas about wetlands was like reading a book about crafts. In her introduction to the book, she explains how this project, originally intended as a personal essay, became a book. I think many writers can relate to that. She uses both research and memory to provide information and sprinkles personal anecdotes throughout, which helps the book move along smoothly.
One of my favorite parts of the book is when she talks about “repeated observations.” This is a technique that many scientists employed to record changes in the environment, especially before the advent of modern technology such as cameras. Henry David Thoreau employed this method of “watching closely” as he walked miles each spring between flare-ups of tuberculosis to observe when wild plants bloomed. His written observations, along with those of other scientists and naturalists of the time, became essential for modern scientists to understand the environmental changes that were occurring at that point in history and the rate of that change.
I think of that passage often, reminding myself that the simple act of walking and noticing can create patterns of meaning. More abstractly, in a world of constant doomscrolling and addictive social media, this part reminded me of the importance of just observing the world.
At this point, you don’t need to walk miles every day. That’s simple. Look up, look carefully, and when something catches your eye, write it down.
