I’ve read a couple novels by Proulx, Shipping News (1993 – Pulitzer Prize), Bearskins (2016)), but this is the first nonfiction I’ve read by her It’s a series of science essays more than anything else and I like that so long as the author doesn’t go overboard on the poetic. (She doesn’t – it’s very nicely written.)  This book keeps the science on the fairly light side, but there’s a good helping of it.  

Fen, Bog and Swamp: 
A Short History of Peatland Destruction and its Role in the Climate Crisis
by Annie Proulx 2022
Read by Gabra Jackman 5h 6m 
Rating:  9 / non-fiction-science 

Before getting into the substance of her topic, Proulx takes the time to define the three categories of wetland she is exploring. Reading that kind of set the mood for me because I wasn’t quite sure what the difference is. Then comes an “author’s note” of sorts, ‘Why fens, bogs and swamps?” Followed by a couple pages of the requisite definitions,  “FEN,” “BOG,” “SWAMP.”   

from the book:
FEN – a fen is a peat forming wetland that is at least partly fed by waters that have contact with mineral soils such as rivers and streams flowing in from higher ground. Such minerotrophic waters.  

BOG or bogland – a wetland that accumulates peat as a deposit of dead plant materials – often mosses, typically sphagnum moss. It is one of the four main types of wetlands. Other names for bogs include mire, mosses, quagmire, and muskeg; alkaline mires are called fens.

SWAMP – a minerotrophic peat-making wetland dominated by trees and shrubs. Its waters tend to be shallower than fens or bogs.  

The first actual chapter is entitled “Discursive Thoughts on Wetlands.” It’s a personal statement (a vent really) in which Proulx looks at the past, for better or worse,  what we’re doing in many places, to the present situation,  She also shines a few lights in unexpected places throughout the world. I appreciated that.  

Finally we head on into the real issue of the book – “A Short History of Peatland Destruction and its Role in the Climate Crisis.”   Yes!  And the climate crisis has become one of my favorite subjects to read about. I’m not a scientist by any stretch, but I am certainly concerned as I observe our struggling planet and I learn as I go.

https://www.worldwildlife.org/projects/the-pantanal-saving-the-world-s-largest-tropical-wetland

https://theartsdesk.com/books/annie-proulx-fen-bog-swamp-review-defending-wetlands-bounty