Where the Grass Still Sings: Stories of Insects and Interconnection

by Heather Swan

Through narrative, verse, and art, Where the Grass Still Sings celebrates the many tiny creatures that play crucial roles in our ecosystems―as well as the people on the front lines of the fight to save them. Weaving art and science with inspiring stories of people doing their part to protect insects and the environment, author Heather Swan takes readers around the globe to highlight practical solutions to safeguard our fragile planet. Visit a sustainable coffee farm in Ecuador and a frog expert combating animal trafficking in Colombia. Explore a butterfly sanctuary in an Andean cloud forest and learn about a family of orchid farmers who are replanting a mountainside to attract native pollinators. Meet a bumblebee expert helping Wisconsin cranberry growers, a bark beetle specialist in a new-growth forest in Georgia, an entomologist collecting for the Essig Museum in California, and more. Against a backdrop of climate change, ecological injustice, and impending mass extinction, this book rekindles wonder and hope. Featuring works by artists deeply invested in preserving the smallest beings among us, Where the Grass Still Sings is a paean to the natural world.

Genres: Poetry, Essays, Nonfiction, Ecology

184 pages, Paperback

Published May 21, 2024

Reviews

[Tara · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wish this very special book had more reviews. I hope my review will lead readers who appreciate books about the wild to put it on their tbr lists.

"For the myriad marvelous bugs."

This is how the book opens, with a dedication to those insects we generally step on, fear, vacuum up, spray, run away from. But this is a gorgeous book filled with Swan's delicate watercolors and the 4-color artwork of many unique artists who focus on the insect world, especially bees.

Swan is a poet and creative nonfiction writer. Her essays are lyrical and she has the ability to bring dry science to the reader in a relatable and beautiful way. Like Rachel Carson, she sounds the alarm at the decline of insects (as high as 75% in Germany), and how humans are mostly to blame and what we lose when we lose them.

Her goal when writing this was to find humans who were not ignoring the issue but trying to do something about it, and who are succeeding in myriad ways. Many of the humans are farmers or artists whose work draws attention to their plight, especially Liz Anna Kozik, whose colorful comics depicting the plight of the rusty-patched bumblebee (the first be to make the Federal endangered list) helped halt a construction company from destroying their habitat. (Link: https://liz.kozik.net/)

Essays range in subject from metamorphosis; the power of insects, such as the boll weevil, to transform landscape and culture; and the importance of native bees, of which there are many (who knew?)

She closes:

"Soon a ballet of the glowing bodies of fireflies began, like tinier stars that had somehow lodged themselves from the sky and now floated through the sultry air. Think of what a miracle that is. There are species like this left."

Such a beautiful book that will go on my bookshelf and be treasured again.

[Katie Keeshen · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars - some parts I really liked (the epilogue about choosing love and connection to the natural world in the face of a changing climate and not to turn away in fear!) but other parts felt repetitive or like a less good version of something I’ve read in other nature writing. I did really enjoy the short essays about different pieces of art and artists - very unique feature of this book.

picked out for me through pt reyes book’s thinking like a mountain series

[Joe E. · Rating 5 out of 5]

As the world becomes more tech-focused, and more wrapped up in angst and worry over politics, society, economics, and climate change, we all could use more connection to nature in our lives. In Where the Grass Still Sings, Heather Swan reminds us of just how important that connection to nature is, how healing it can be, and beautifully relates some tales of how immersing herself in the natural world has benefited and buoyed her. I particularly enjoyed the chapter on courage, which emphasizes that we all can simultaneously be aware of the challenges present in the world, and yet at the same time allow ourselves the emotional freedom to genuinely enjoy bird song, rustling leaves, chirping crickets, and the innumerable forms of beauty that nature provides, every day. The ability to embrace this duality, awareness of the challenges to and love for the benefits from, the natural world require a form of courage on our part. But it's a courage that pays back everyone who embraces it. Just as Swan's book pays immense dividends to those who read it. Turn a few pages, then go take a walk in the woods, or by the lake ... your day will be much better for it, and your heart much uplifted.

[Craig Adams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wish I could give this book 10 stars. Excellent writing and arguments for protecting our natural environment. Followed by chapters about amazing nature-themed art and stories of the artists. Nature and arts - just my type of perfect combination. Bravo!

[Carol · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book more than Braiding Sweetgrass. The author sends a similar message but is not as preachy.

[Jonathan DeWald · Rating 5 out of 5]

The framework for finding hope through patchworks of stories and art amidst environmental anxiety is an inspirational guide to navigating the climate crisis. The writing invites readers to admire hopeful stories from inspirational characters. The art expositions provide additional context to a hopeful narrative.