Alghe (saggi | terra)

by Miek Zwamborn, Stefano Musilli (translator)

Le alghe ci sono familiari, eppure conservano una natura stranamente misteriosa. Le loro foreste sottomarine e i grovigli che disegnano sulle spiagge hanno alimentato le fantasie degli osservatori e gli incubi dei marinai, le loro complesse geometrie formali e il movimento incessante hanno sedotto illustratori, naturalisti e designer, i loro sensuali viluppi colorati si sono impressi nell’immaginazione di pittori e poeti. Ma da tempi remoti, le alghe sono anche entrate nella cultura materiale delle popolazioni costiere da un capo all’altro del pianeta, in Irlanda come in nella cucina, nell’economia, nella vita quotidiana. In questo agile ritratto splendidamente illustrato, la scrittrice e artista olandese Miek Zwamborn racconta la sua passione per questi esseri viventi decisamente speciali, rintracciandone la presenza nella tecnologia neolitica dei cerchi di pietre in Scozia, nelle cronache di viaggio di Colombo e von Humboldt, nel collezionismo vittoriano, nell’arte di Hokusai, Gauguin e Matisse. Fino ad arrivare alla Stazione Spaziale Internazionale, dove una robusta alga norvegese ha mostrato le sue eccezionali doti di resistenza, sopravvivendo e proliferando in condizioni estreme. Capaci di assorbire anidride carbonica più velocemente delle foreste tropicali, le alghe potrebbero persino diventare un prezioso alleato nella lotta al cambiamento climatico, oltre a fornire un materiale “verde” dalle grandi potenzialità d’uso. Rimanendo sempre un mondo di incanti, per chi le “Dapprima vidi tutto dal basso, e poi ero alghe”.

Genres: Nonfiction, Nature, Science, Natural History, History, Biology, Plants

207 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 6, 2018

About the author

Miek Zwamborn is schrijver, vertaler en beeldend kunstenaar. In haar werk spelen landschap en geschiedenis een belangrijke rol. Aan de hand van historisch beeldmateriaal, reisverslagen en wetenschappelijke rapporten pluist zij bestaande verhalen na om met deze fragmenten via verschillende media een koppeling naar het heden te maken. Zij publiceerde de romans Oploper (2000), Vallend hout (2004) en de dichtbundel Het krieken van sepia(2008). In 2013 verscheen haar derde roman De duimsprong bij Uitgeverij Van Oorschot.

Reviews

[Laurent De Maertelaer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Boeiende en rijkelijk geïllustreerde cultuurgeschiedenis van wieren en algen. Ik viel van de ene verbazing in de andere. Wier is waarlijk wonderlijk!

[Lauren]

▫️SEAWEED: An Enchanting Miscellany by Miek Zwamborn, translated from the Dutch by Michele Hutchison, 2018/2020.

#ReadtheWorld21 📍Netherlands

Compendium of all things seaweed and macro algae - truly an amazing book of art, science, history, and the dynamic future of this "primitive plant" and its diversity and adaptability - and there's even a few recipes!

Zwamborn brings a poet and artist's eye to her deep study, with beautiful passages describing her own work in the Netherlands, and now in the Scottish Hebrides on the Isle of Mull.

"A robust algae from Norway survived 530 days on the outside of the International Space Station... Exposed to the vaccuum of space, the algae managed to withstand temperatures ranging from -20°- 47.2° C and braved persistent cosmic and ultraviolet radiation that would destroy terrestrial life...within two weeks the algae shed some capsules and begin to grow as if nothing had happened."

😲 This amazing study could lead to seaweed / algae suits that humans could wear to explore space and other planets.

Another great tidbit that (may) solve some mysteries of the past:
In an 1871 text, a terrifying sea monster is described, similar to a gigantic snake. The ships men wrestle the "beast" by tying a rope around it, stabbing it, and hauling it towards the ship to discover ... A 30 meter (!) long and 1.5 m wide mass of seaweed wrack embedded with seashells, fish fry, mollusks and other debris.

Cools tidbits aside, this book includes some stunning botanical and scientific art, discussions of early seaweed collections and the history and future of aquaculture for seaweed food and resources.

Thanks to @greystonebooks for this gifted copy!

[Maaike van Stratum · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ik las Wieren door Miek Zwamborn, een heerlijke natural history over zeewier. Het is een aanstekelijke mix van persoonlijke beschouwingen op het zeewier dat Zwamborn tegenkomt aan het strand in de buurt van haar Schotse huis, weetjes over verschillende soorten zeewier, en verwijzingen naar literatuur, schilderkunst, muziek, en meer. Anna Atkins komt natuurlijk langs, maar ook de geschiedenis: van de Franse zeewieroogst, en hoe stofontwerpen met zeewieren tot copyrightwetgeving leidde.

Daarbij staat het vol met prachtige afbeeldingen, prachtige aquarellen van Zwamborn zelf, botanische tekeningen, Japanse prenten, werken van Gaugin, Matisse, Haeckel… Ook recepten met zeewier ontbreken niet, en de manier om de beste kwaliteit wakame te drogen (bedekt met as van stro of varens een paar dagen drogen langs de kust, dan wassen en opnieuw drogen).

Al met al een heerlijk boekje waarvan ik spontaan zin krijg om naar zee te gaan, zeewier zoeken.

[Maud Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

Definitely enjoyed this book. Immersing myself into nature books, which have increased almost exponentially since the start of the 2020s, it felt refreshing to have a little wade into the world of seaweed, and understand its way within our world. This book was a true ode- a lovely journey and an enjoyable, romantic, and educational read. It transects science, art, and culture, like a good, truly ecological nature books should! I have learnt a million new things. The recipes and identification guides at the end were a great extra touch.

It may not be everyone's cup of (seaweed) tea, but I enjoyed the way that there was no smooth transition between each story and occurrence. The book almost emanates seaweed-like dynamics. This book floated me unexpectedly from story to story around the world, showcasing the unique functionality and resilience of seaweed. This book had me flowing around seamlessly as if I was a bit of seaweed caught at sea, and washing up on some novel coastline at some point in time and at some cultural intersection, seeing what happens to me. Occasionally I would be submerged into the deep whilst I was travelling out there, learning of the dark mysteries and untold futures ahead for this species, sometimes I'd pass by fellow species-being enlightened with delightfully curated illustrations of a variety of seaweeds around the world.

The only qualms I have about this book is that it perhaps needed more cohesive themes. Also, I can't help but be critical about any scientific aims with utilising seaweed for future gains- especially the focus to farm it on a large scale and plant it everywhere- having read about risks of the same principle with planting trees, additionally 'agrilogistics', I do not see an optimistic future with intense cultivation, commercialisation and, then perhaps, the corporatisation of seaweed. We still have a long way to go with acknowledging and ethicizing how natural components become acknowleged for its qualities and heavily capitalised, especially in the age of the climate crisis, which is what I am witnessing in the fungi world at the moment. More information regarding research uncertainties, and perhaps self-cultivation, the radicalism of seaweed, further discussing its unique resilience in our current world of crisis and its meaning to us, would be definitely interesting.

[Sian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautifully illustrated, though coming from a scientific perspective I had hoped that there would be more facts and less cultural historical information. However, very interesting nonetheless and a great read. :)

[wendy · Rating 5 out of 5]

a love story, really

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

"I had never really looked at it properly. The mysterious appearance of this specimen which had grown under water into such a coquettish beauty."
•
Thoughts ~
Reading books about nature have been a lovely way to unplug and relax for me this past year. Dipping in and out of these books is just what I need to reset when reading other genres become underwhelming. I was looking forward to this book since I had first seen @greystonebooks share about it's future publication and I thoroughly enjoyed it! What a wonderfully informative book! Most people probably dont think much about Seaweed beyond it's edibility and that it grows in water, I know I didn't, but Zwamborn has created a gorgeous book dedicated to this lush family of water plants. We learn of its lengthy past and influences in art and culture throughtout human history, its long use for health and medicinal properties in humans and animals, its ability to fight climate change, recipes and more! The photos and artwork throughout are absolutely gorgeous too! This book is a lovely, poetic meditation proving Seaweed has always been enchanting us, such a mystical and interesting organism! Thank you so much to @greystonebooks for sending me this little gem, opinions are my own.
•
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[Maxine]

Seaweed miscellany. Lovely, and very, very pretty! (Could have done with another run through spellcheck, however😡.)

[Felix Klitzke · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars rounded down. Very interesting information on art/culture and seaweed, but the writing feels like a list of facts more than a cohesive book

[Michiel Mestdagh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Verbazingwekkend interessant, de wereld gaat weer wat meer open…

[Saphira Bloom-Quinn · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best reads of my year and earns a place in my top 10 reads of all time.

What a superb piece of nature writing. As a fan of nature writers like Robert MacFarlane, Nan Shepherd, Rachel Carson, Roger Deakin and Robin Wall Kimmerer I feel this is an undiscovered gem.

What a thorough ode to seaweed. I only wish she had elaborated on the lessons seaweed has to teach us.

[Memisshi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Un saggio scorrevole e leggero grazie al quale ho scoperto molte cose interessanti. Tuttavia, a tratti si perde un po’ nei vari riferimenti letterari/artistici dei quali talvolta faticavo a cogliere il punto perché vengono citate tante cose senza che poi vengano approfondite o contestualizzate più di tanto. Forse è un libro più adatto per chi ha già un’infarinatura di base sulle alghe e sa più o meno di cosa si parla altrimenti bisogna passare la metà del tempo a cercare su google immagini e riferimenti più chiari per capire meglio.
La passione dell’autrice per l’argomento in ogni caso traspare in ogni riga.

[Dpurpurea · Rating 3 out of 5]

oy. I don't know why I keep doing this to myself. I bought this looking for information about seaweed because, as the title says, this is a handbook. For seaweed collectors. Instead I got a bunch of wildly decontextualised seaweed factoids sprinkled seemingly at random between admittedly very lovely paintings. Great if you like nonfiction with a self-conscious prose tone, bad if you want to actually learn anything substantial about collecting seaweed. The paintings in the back really are wonderful, so the book is elevated to three stars.

[Patrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wieren zijn wonderlijk, net als elke levensvorm, als je er wat beter naar kijkt. Een hele planeet vol verschillende wonderbaarlijke organismen. Natuur is mijn religie, ze voedt mij, houdt mij gezond en verwondert mij. Dit boekje is ook nog prachtig geïllustreerd, een kleinood.

[Annabelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Echt heel fijn boekie

[Mikhail Kalashnikov · Rating 4 out of 5]

Книга про водоросли: что они такое, зачем они нужны, как их использовали в истории — идеальный нон-фикшн для отпуска у моря. Даже есть рецепты.

Цитаты:

«There are around 10,000 different species, some of which survive in extremely harsh conditions, enduring storms, penetrating sunlight, acidification and drying out at low tide. Fossil records indicate that seaweeds have been in existence for 1.7 billion years. They seem to have evolved little in all this time.»

«The world’s very first photo album focuses on algae. Photographs of British Algae: Cyanotype Impressions is the title of the book that is four centimetre thick and consists solely of loose sheets. It was brought in on a trolley. I was handed a green velvet cushion to lay the book on and a long thin bag of sand to hold down the pages. Atkins’ book was created under water, each page of it submerged.

Anna Atkins became person in history to use the cyanotype technique in photography. She released her recordings in limited editions and can boast of being the author of the very first published book of photographs.»

«In the Finnish writer and artist Tove Jansson went to Brittany, where she travelled on foot from village to village, painting and sketching her impressions. Two of her best-known Brittany paintings from that trip are both titled The Seaweed Burners.»

«Cows and sheep produce an alarming amount of methane when they belch or fart, accounting for nearly 15 per cent of the world’s greenhouse gases (methane is about times more destructive than carbon dioxide). But livestock that have particular seaweeds in their diets expel far less methane than animals fed on grass or general feed; this is due to its concentrations of bromoform – a compound that blocks the production of methane in ruminant animals.»

«A robust algae from Norway survived a stay of 530 days on the outside of the international space station ISS, New Scientist reported 2017. Primitive plants are joining the space travel club, which also consists of bacteria, lichens and dozens of microscopic water bears (tardigrades).»

[Mary Warnement · Rating 4 out of 5]

An artist who was a former bridge and lock keeper with a lighthouse keeper certificate, Miek Zwamborn has published a tidy and attractive volume with a brief description of seaweeds and their uses by artists, enthusiasts, and scientists--often one and the same person. Gorgeous reproductions, proving a book need not be the size of a coffee table to have handsome illustrations. (Please, other publishers take note.)

epigraph from Monika Rinck : "At first I saw everything from below, and then I was algae.

51 "The art of capturing the essence of things, no reproducing something to perfection but sketching it in all simplicity, was regarded as the highest pursuit of an artist during the Western (206-208 BC) and the Eastern Han dynasties (25 BC to AD 220)....impossible to erase...impression of spontaneity."

A hopeful, little book, with news of how seaweed could help alleviate the buildup of greenhouse gases by feeding livestock or be used as a biofuel to replace fossil fuel.

59 "In all this interconnectedness, you might see an example of an ideal world in which species are tolerant and offer each other holdfast in the current in order to survive. Pure symbiosis."

I need such a positive outlook right now. I also must look up again the source for the very first image in the book, which makes me smile.

[Lara · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is kind of a strange one that I partly really loved, but that I also found pretty boring at times. It does have really beautiful illustrations, and just the feel of the book is really nice…you know, thick, smooth paper, and a cute small size.

I picked this up sort of on a whim while finding books about lighthouses and the ocean for my kids—it just came up in my search and I put it on hold because I figured I might as well take a look at it. Guess I liked the cover. Anyway, lots of pleasant connections to things we’ve been learning about recently (for instance, Anna Atkins’ cyanotypes of seaweed), as a well as to…well, just things in my life, like the fact that the author lives on the Isle of Mull, which my husband and I drove across and loved while in Scotland years ago.

I liked that it includes recipes at the end, and the author speaks of seaweed with such love and fascination that I almost want to actually try some of them.

I guess my main complaint is that Zwamborn sometimes really lost me and I had no idea what she was talking about, because it really is a lot of miscellany and I couldn’t always quite grasp what her point was.

But. I really loved looking at all the beautiful seaweed and it made me miss the ocean. So there’s that?

[Leanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

As someone said below, a coffee table book doesn't have to be huge.... Every year I choose a book to give at Christmas to my loved ones. It’s always something that special to me. This year it must be this book because it’s such an exquisite gem. The publisher took so much time to create a beautiful book with a gorgeous cover, wonderful paper and so MANY gorgeous drawings that are reminiscent of the old fashioned nature drawings from scientific notebooks of explorers.

The author, Dutch transplant in the wilds of Scotland is an artist and translator, and lock keeper (with a lighthouse certificate)... more than anything she is tangled up in seaweed.

My favorite chapter was on the Sargasso Sea. A poem in itself... the grasses where eels go to do their thing, the place that was so beautifully written about by Yann Martel and the Life of Pi... and in the journals of Columbus too.

Of course all roads lead to Japan. It reminds me of Winfred Bird's exquisite book on foraging in Japan, as it is so beautifully written with hand-drawn illustrations and memoir mixed with science. This is a very special book.

[Selena F. · Rating 4 out of 5]

3'75/5

No he encontrado lo que me esperaba y eso es algo que valoro positivamente. Sabía que no era un libro con un enfoque muy científico ni tampoco de identificación de algas, sino que ha sido mucho más artístico y cultural.

Las algas son esos organismos que todos conocemos de vista y oído pero sobre los que realmente no sabemos nada, y yo, como científica y estudiante de Máster con especialidad en macroalgas marinas, me incluyo. Ha sido precioso ver plasmada su importancia en ámbitos tan diferentes y en culturas que parecen ser tan lejanas como la celta y la asiática. Las ilustraciones de este libro son preciosas también, pero algo que me gustaría destacar es cómo se les ha dado voz y valor a mujeres de muchos campos diferentes, como el científico y el artístico. Quizás lo que me ha fallado ha sido la cohesión de las diferentes partes y algunas partes de la información dada; siento que es un libro que ha querido abarcar mucho en muchas cuestiones siendo directo al mismo tiempo y en algunas cosas se ha quedado a medio gas.

[Andrew (Drew) Lewis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Weird, winsome, and beautiful notes on all aspects of seaweed. Wonderfully illustrated and good at opening eyes on these very simple and very very common plants. You learn a bit about the science, a lot about its representation in art, and even some reflections on how bad it can smell. The book ends with recipes, but, alas, too many of the recipes involve species that are only found in Northern Europe or the Atlantic. I'm up to my ankles in the Pacific varietals and would appreciate some equivalents in these recipes so I could try the dulse potato soup but with something akin to dulse.

[casper · Rating 4 out of 5]

i liked this book , it felt like i was at the end of a long day + just listening 2 someone talk abt something they r rly interested in . i also rly rly appreciated the fact that the author would talk about a piece of art or something , and then actually show a picture of it , which is something i don't see a lot . the book was so full of beautiful art + i definitely am inspired to make some of the recipes at the end . i could tell from the beautiful descriptions it was written with love + overall a very pleasant book :)

[Xavier Roelens · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dit dunne, handzame boekje lijkt alles te bevatten wat je moet weten over wieren als gebruiksvoorwerp voor de mens. Wier als inspratie voor kunstenaars, als (potentieel) voedsel voor de bio-industrie, als vergeten groente in gerechten. Stoere verhalen van wier dat een ruimtereis overleefde, dat aan de grond lag van het ontstaan van het auteursrecht. Wuivend wier als een te bewonderen schoonheid. Wier krijgt met dit rijkelijk geïllustreerde boek zijn ideale promopraatje. Toch voor de mens-consument als doelgroep.

[Alex Williams · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a must read if you are a creative person obsessed with algae. It's an ode to odes to sea weed. It's a collection of descriptions of Seaweed herbaria, illustrations, photographs, acounts, ships logs and scientific descriptions. It does not describe them scientifically, or explain their biology (and refers to them as plants) but it does have a lovely field guide to 9 species and a collection of recipes.

[Aaron El Sabrout · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book mostly contains random cultural notes on seaweed & its preservation. The illustrations are cool and they are interesting, though the sections often follow each other in confusing fashion. I wish there had been more seaweed ID information here, rather than random paragraphs about Harry Potter and Christopher Columbus.

[Tansy Hepton · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book needs to be read by the sea. I've had it on the shelf in landlocked Yorkshire for 4 years and struggled to get past the first few pages. On the Isles of Scilly, surrounded by weed strewn beaches, it is revelatory. Beautifully presented and meditative, it is the perfect book to dip into, and then head for the shore, eyes down, to appreciate the variety and beauty of these sea plants.

[Four McCarley · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars idk how it make it do a half or if it does even.

i enjoyed the first half the most and felt like i just was trying to get it over with towards the end but that may just be a me thing. the end has recipes and portraits/identification facts about different seaweed species and i really enjoyed that part as well

[Amanda Witt · Rating 5 out of 5]

A small book, very descriptive of a subject most of us don't think about that much. Contains the history and stories of various seaweeds and grasses, the countries that use it for food (Japan) and at the back are a few recipes and 'habitat' of some common types, along with a world map of the locations.

[Kara · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars!
This book is so lovely and I'm so glad I own it. Very informative, and the writing is so much more beautiful than I was expecting from a book about seaweed. It would be a nice book to read outloud to someone, very relaxing and nice language

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

The only section that I was truly interested in was truffle of the seas, the rest of the book for me was just “ok”. I liked when the author created a personal connection to seaweed but there just wasn’t enough of that for me.