{"product_id":"among-the-swamp-people-life-in-alabamas-mobile-tensaw-river-delta-9780817359324","title":"Among the Swamp People: Life in Alabama's Mobile-Tensaw River Delta","description":"\u003cb\u003eColorful and lively personal essays about life in the wilds of Alabama's Mobile-Tensaw River Delta\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003eAmong the Swamp People\u003c\/i\u003e is the story of author Watt Key's discovery of the Mobile-Tensaw River Delta. \"The swamp\" consists of almost 260,000 acres of wetlands located just north of Mobile Bay. There he leases a habitable outcropping of land and constructs a primitive cabin from driftwood to serve as a private getaway. His story is one that chronicles the beauties of the delta's unparalleled natural wonders, the difficulties of survival within it, and an extraordinary community of characters--by turns generous and violent, gracious and paranoid, hilarious and reckless--who live, thrive, and perish there. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e There is no way into the delta except by small boat. To most it would appear a maze of rivers and creeks between stunted swamp trees and mud. Key observes that there are few places where one can step out of a boat without \"sinking to the knees in muck the consistency of axle grease. It is the only place I know where gloom and beauty can coexist at such extremes. And it never occurred to me that a land seemingly so bleak could hide such beauty and adventure.\" \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e It also chronicles Key's maturation as a writer, from a twenty-five-year-old computer programmer with no formal training as a writer to a highly successful, award-winning writer of fiction for a young adult audience with three acclaimed novels published to date. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e In learning to make a place for himself in the wild, as in learning to write, Key's story is one of \"hoping someone--even if just myself--would find value in my creations.\" \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e University Alabama Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 04\/11\/2018\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780817359324\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 208\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.61lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.00h x 6.00w x 0.60d","brand":"Watt Key","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44589907345589,"sku":"9780817359324","price":16.96,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0473\/0804\/6492\/files\/img_b8c2140c-48b9-4786-9ecf-c05388333230.jpg?v=1724734035","url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/among-the-swamp-people-life-in-alabamas-mobile-tensaw-river-delta-9780817359324","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}