Abstract
One poem on American Eel, "From Sea, Toward Sea," commissioned for the anthology. "Northern Appalachia is one of the most biodiverse regions on earth and home to a broad range of ecological and human cultures. Northern Appalachia recognizes and celebrates the fact that humans are storytelling creatures who develop relationships with their landscapes at the intersection of art and science. A companion volume to A Literary Field Guide to Southern Appalachia, this guide introduces the reader to 70 indigenous species found in Northern Appalachia, a region comprised of parts of Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Connecticut, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine. As a hybrid literary and natural history anthology, the book consists of descriptions and notes on habitat, range, and ecology provided by six scientists with expertise in the region's flora and fauna. In addition, 11 artists and 70 poets were commissioned to create diverse and original artwork and poems that seek to bring to the fore the lives of the greater-than-human world. Defying any easy stereotypes, the guide presents trees and shrubs, wildflowers and mammals, birds and fish, reptiles and amphibians, as well as invertebrates and fungi. Love and wonder for these ancient mountains and their ever-evolving residents floods the pages of this book, inviting the reader into a deeper way of knowing a place and the lives dependent upon it"--