I really appreciated this anthology--a collective of smart minds in the world of poetics and science, meditating on the scientific and environmental importance of water through experience and gorgeous language.

This is a small thing and won't apply to those who purchase the book, but the formatting in the advance copy was difficult to read through smoothly.

I want to thank NetGalley for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review. I could see this making a gorgeous gift to those eco-minded readers in your life.

As an Environmental Science student I really enjoyed this book! I loved hearing about how water plays influential role in a diverse manner or ways to a diverse collection of people. I think this book could be really helpful in introducing environmental topics to anyone interested.
There was several different styles of writing represented in this book so I think everyone will find something they love or something that resonates with them. In particular I really liked the chapter Taking Measure by Akiko Busch.

Unfortunately, I did not realise that this was an anthology of various forms of art, including essays, poetry and photography and I got to around 20% of it before I found it too academic for my tastes.

The contributors and editors have obviously worked extremely hard to gather so much together regarding the element explored, and I appreciate that effort although I feel I am in no position to fully appreciate the content in its entirety.

I extend much gratitude to the editors, contributers and Netgalley for the opportunity to view this in advance of publication.

DNF (got to around 15% before realising this is not the sort of book for me. I thought there would be more poetry and less dense text (an error on my part).

This anthology is a slim volume, and yet is multigenre and transnational. It collects famous poets and essayist, as well as up-and-coming writers I wasn’t familiar with. All of the pieces are fairly brief and meditative, touching on a lot of different surfaces of water. Some of the pieces toed the line between cultural appropriation and appreciation—where does water connect us? How far does fluidity go?

I did find myself wishing there was more to this anthology, but I appreciated what was there. I love almost any writing about water, and this spanned its wondrous beauty and dangerous predatory. And I have my own local bias—I found myself most drawn to the pieces based in the Great Lakes or Northern California, especially Elizabeth Rush’s meditation on Point Reyes, where I recently was. Coral Bracho’s final, exuberant poem made me want to revisit my own writing on water—endlessly fascinating, awe-inspiring immensity.

Lenore Manderson was one of the primary appeals of this collection for me. Having read some of her more historical scholarship I was intrigued about this diversion into water as a subject. Her collaboration with the poet, Forrest Gander, also made me pause over this title.

I am not sure what I expected, but was pleasantly surprised to find that Water’s Edge is less a work of scholarship than an academic, literary contemplation on climate change, the significance of water, and the role of water in the intimate spaces of our lives. The collection is vast in its scope, though narrowly focused on its topic, water: poems, visuals, images, photographs, sociological and anthropological essays on researching water, and essays on the ways in which we move water and how it moves us.

My favorite — and indeed one of the most surprising essays — was not on water directly, but on chickenshit. I will say no more, but that incongruity may intrigue you as much as it did me. The reward was immediate. There is more connection between water and chickenshit than I gave credence to before reading this essay, not that I paid much attention to chicken excrement…

Indeed many of the essays and poems in Water’s Edge are rewarding and the quickly so: they are short, spanning only a few pages each at most. Their length makes this a quick and flowing read, not unlike a river (perhaps that was intentional!)

As for the intended audience of this work… It is academic and its language and form are designed for an aesthetically sensitive mind, one that is poetic and will appreciate the nuances of a breath or the sensation of a light spray of water. The reader should expect to work for their reward. The content is intellectual and demands a certain degree of effort to excavate some of the deeper meanings embedded in the text. I would expect no less from poets and scholars. That said, I could see this text yield fantastic discussion and organic analysis in a social science graduate or upper level undergraduate seminar. The content, language, and complexity allow for reflection on multiple levels. Poetry and literature are excellent fodder for analysis; I use novels in my history courses frequently.

A very thoughtful read on water and our future with this quotidian, essential substance.