Below Freezing: Elegy for the Melting Planet

by Donald Anderson, Aritha van Herk (Foreword)

Climate change is here. This book moves beyond misery and misunderstanding, taking a literary approach to the debate. Below Freezing is a unique assemblage of scientific fact, newspaper reports, and excerpts from novels, short stories, nonfiction, history, creative nonfiction, and poetry—a commonplace book for our era of altering climate. This polyphony of voices functions as an oratorio, shifting from chorus to solo and back to chorus. An unconventional and brilliant book, Below Freezing is both timely and pertinent—an original gaze at this melting ball we call home.

Genres: Environment, Nonfiction

221 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 15, 2018

Reviews

[Rolf Yngve · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a boy who grew up in a climate where cold air was a given and a gift, I found myself captured by the splendid writing and wisdom of Below Freezing. Anderson achieves a wonderful effect by weaving poetics (this is not a poetry book), science (this is not a science book) and memoir, (this is not just a memoir) into a splendid, satisfying tapestry. This book steers away from polemics and toward the hearts of both memory and hope.