Bog Witch: A Semi-mystical Immersion into Wild Wetland Habitats: Their Myths, Magic, and Meaning

by Mab Jones

Encompassing nature writing, life writing, poetry, and magical memoir from a working-class woman's perspective whilst drawing from history, science, mythology and folklore, Bog Witch is a lyrical, semi-mystical immersion into wild wetland areas. From fens to peatlands, mires to marshes, swamps to lagoons, these diverse habitats are more than just mud​, ​offer​ing​ a richesse of flora and fauna, herbs and healing plants, as well as an unusual opportunity for our own inner healing and spiritual growth. With a structure inspired by the chant of the three witches in Macbeth - which features a host of native wetland flora and fauna - Bog Witch will lead its readers into the gloam of these seemingly gloomy spots, enlightening them​,​ endeavouring to entertain, explore, explain, and enrich. Join poet Mab Jones on her journey into the wilds and learn how brightness and beauty, birdsong and brilliance, exist even in the darkest, most misunderstood places.

Genres: Nonfiction

96 pages, Paperback

Published July 1, 2024

About the author

Mab Jones is a "unique talent" (The Times). She has read her poems all over the UK, in the US, Ireland, France, and Japan; at festivals such as Green Man and Latitude; on BBC Radio 4; and supporting television's Phill Jupitus at the Edinburgh Fringe. She was the first Resident Poet in the National Botanic Garden of Wales, and has also been Resident Writer at the Dylan Thomas Boathouse. She is the winner of many awards and accolades, including the John Tripp Spoken Poetry Audience Prize, the Neil Gaiman Word Factory Short Story Competition, and the Rabbit Heart Poetry Film Festival Grand Jury Prize. She was the recent recipient of a Creative Wales Award, and her second collection, take your experience and peel it (Indigo Dreams, 2016) was winner of the Geoff Stevens Memorial Poetry Prize.

Her first collection, Poor Queen, was published by Burning Eye Books. She has also been published in various newspapers and journals e.g. the Spectator; has appeared on Made in Cardiff TV; is the founder editor of Black Sheep; has blogged for Mslexia magazine; and organises events, which have included the first Welsh editions of Pecha Kucha Night (from Japan), Literary Death Match (from the US), 100,000 Poets for Change (worldwide), UK Slam! Championships (London) and more. Currently, Mab runs International Dylan Thomas Day, is a freelance writer for the New York Times, and teaches at Cardiff University.

@mabjones
http://mabjones.com/
https://www.facebook.com/mabjones

Reviews

[Jessika · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bog Witch by Mab Jones is a poetic and beautifully weaved piece of work that blends memoir, environmental awareness, and folklore. Mab Jones’ story begins in a deeply personal setting exploring her working-class upbringing in Europe, which touches on a larger discussion of nature, feminism and capitalism’s harmful hold on both the environment and people.

Initially Bog Witch drew me in because of the interesting cover — a woman with a face mostly hidden with long hair which gave me the impression that this was going to be a scary book filled with mystical stories of myths of a witch that lives in the bog with creatures. However, this book is far from my guess and despite that fact I still enjoyed this piece. Diving into this book I have found that it geared more towards weaving the authors personal life, folklore and deep analogies of the environment to raise awareness before it was too late to care for and save the earth. This focus in itself made a lasting impression and left me with deep thoughts inspiring more love for the nature that surrounds us.

When I started reading this book my very first thoughts were, “Gosh this author sure knows how to write visually and relate to her audience.” Even though my experiences were not exactly the same I had similar experiences throughout my life and relating to the author made me feel relief because there were not that many authors I could relate to. In a way this book touched my heart and I felt inspired realizing this could be me writing my heartfelt experiences on paper and sharing it with my audience as well. All of my passions, life experiences, and desires to get through to humanity is a task I have been uncomfortable to take on until now. Books like Bog Witch inspire not just a call to action but creativity as well because the words woven on paper have been well put together.
I enjoyed the foretelling of her childhood and experiences in nature, “My interactions with nature were few and far between, and restricted to things found in or on hedges as we walked the short route to school. This included ladybirds, caterpillars, and, once, a hedgehog.” Pg 1. Experiences like this took me back to my memories of childhood and all the times I were outside in nature and unaware of all its beautiful mysteries. When I was young just like the author I was, “Blind to the beauties of nature.” Pg 1.
The style of Jones’ writing at first was a bit difficult for me to understand as the author uses a lot of analogies and descriptive storytelling throughout the entire book. However, when I started getting further into my reading journey it was as if I slowly started to ease into Jones’ world and relax. Bog Witch is a book that will catch you off guard and disarm your overly critical thinking mind(as it has done to me). Understanding the point and mission of the book became apparent to me when I started relaxing into the authors words – Change yourself first, notice the beauty of nature, and protect nature.
Each chapter like Fenny, Tongue of dog, In the cauldron, and so on seem to talk about a different type of particular bog. Bogs are described as mucky, icky, and gross but Jones showed a different perspective and way of thinking which I enjoyed reading. In chapter 2 the title named Fenny came from a story of three witches and their incantation using the word “fenny” to describe an ingredient. Pg8. The way the author connected the name of her chapters to storytelling is creative. And the use of folklore from Welsh, English, Hindu, and other cultures creates a unique and diverse atmosphere for readers.
Other than the folklore there is also a bit of education on water spirits which I did not have much knowledge of. Water spirits are not talked about that much in the witchy community and I was hoping that the author would touch more on the subject but a little bit of information was definitely better than nothing. Further in the book on page 29 I learn that dragonflies have other folk names such as the flying dragon which made me curious and want to research the subject further. Commonly dragonflies are known as Devil’s Darning Needle or Snake Doctor which seems to barely scratch the surface and requires more research on my end.
From beginners to advanced in knowledge this book has a little something for everybody to take a piece of and walk away with. Even if you don’t learn something new it is still a great book to sit down with a cup of tea and read to raise awareness of our environment and make you think about how you might be treating nature. What people fail to realize is that not only do we have one planet but change starts with us because too many people are not wanting to take accountability and just leave future problems to future generations. The author sees this happening and does her a great job translating her words on paper to sway audiences and beg for change.
Overall even with the shaky start of starting this book I finished strong with confidence and longing for another volume. Raising awareness of nature with a mix of storytelling, folklore, and knowledge is the perfect blend to a piece of writing that isn’t boring and preachy. Jones knows how to relate to her audience, entice, and educate. I can definitely see myself influenced by her words even though I have started my journey of caring for the earth a while back. However, her knowledge on bogs have taught me to appreciate and respect their space. Bogs are sacred, beautiful and have environmental purpose. My other witchy friends that love nature or want to learn more about nature are the ones I would definitely recommend this book to. People that are not witches would still enjoy this book because it doesn’t particularly get into witchcraft and therefore they would not feel a conflict in their beliefs.

[Lily · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a brilliant blend of memoir, eco-awareness, folklore, and magic. Jones has done a great job of bringing the wetlands, and their importance, to life. Woven among scenes from her own life, she masterfully brings to life how important nature is, not just to our continued survival, but magical practices. One of my favorite parts was the comparison between Mother Earth and how humans approach her, and how many persons approach women's bodies and existence similarly. Especially with everything that's happening right now - the wars, ecological destruction, and women's rights sliding backwards, no matter how slowly. We just went through a nasty heatwave where I live, one that is practically unprecedented for this time of year, setting record high temperatures. Even if you aren't a hedge witch, Earth is a key part of your magic, it's inescapable. Everyone, whether following an earth-based path or not, should read this book.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book seemed to primarily be the thoughts of someone processing their life experiences through the setting of bogs. They write beautiful descriptions of these areas, and I learned little tidbits about bogs and related folklore. I think I was hoping for a bit more substance, more actual facts about these ecosystems or a deeper dive into their cultural significance. I enjoyed what I read: I just wanted more

[Gayle]

I ate this little book right up. A romp, sometimes rowdy sometimes calming, through wetlands both general and specifically Welsh with the aid of history/mythology/naturalism/trauma-healing. Towards the end it felt very preaching to the choir, but honestly sometimes the choir (me) gets too comfy in what it thinks it knows and needs a little jostling reminder.