What Rivers Know: Listening to the Voices of Global Waterways

Irland (emerita, art and art history, Univ. of New Mexico; Repositories) has visited and studied many of the world’s waterways, evaluated their water quality and environmental impact, and recommended ways the rivers and the world could benefit from practical care strategies. In this work, she focuses on 25 waterways in various locations across the world, but she writes about them in a unique way: she gives a first-person account of what each one would tell people if they had a voice. She asserts that rivers are living entities; thus, each has a distinctive story to tell. Rivers of all shapes, sizes, and locations are presented, from the Seine River in France to Deckers Creek in West Virginia and the Gowanus Canal in Brooklyn. This widespread perspective and the individualized narratives result in a condensed yet inspirational overview of many of the world’s waters.