My Reach

Fox Rogers Susan

Description

In this memoir of the Hudson River and of her family, Susan Fox Rogers writes from a fresh perspective: the seat of her kayak. Low in the water, she explores the bays and the larger estuary, riding the tides, marveling over sturgeons and eels, eagles and herons, and spotting the remains of the ice and cement industries. After years of dipping her paddle into the waters off the village of Tivoli, she came to know the rocks and tree limbs, currents and eddies, mansions and islands so well that she claimed that section of the river as her own: her reach. Woven into Rogers's intimate exploration of the river is the story of her life as a woman in the outdoors-rock climbing and hiking as well as kayaking. Rogers writes of the Hudson River with skill and vivacity. Her strong sense of place informs her engagement with a waterway that lured the early Dutch settlers, entranced nineteenth-century painters, and has been marked by decades of pollution. The river and the communities along its banks become partners in Rogers's life and vivid characters in her memoir. Her travels on the river range from short excursions to the Saugerties Lighthouse to a days-long journey from Tivoli to Tarrytown and a circumnavigation of Manhattan Island, while in memory she ventures as far as the Indiana Dunes and the French Pyrenees. In a fluid, engaging voice, My Reach mixes the genres of memoir, outdoor adventure, natural and unnatural history. Rogers's interest in the flora and fauna of the river is as keen as her insight into the people who live and travel along the waterway. She integrates moments of description and environmental context with her own process of grieving the recent deaths of both parents. The result is a book that not only moves the reader but also informs and entertains.

Sujets

• Philosophie et théologie
• Memoir

Informations

• Publié par: Cornell University Press
• Date de parution: 15 août 2012
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780801463099
• Langue: English

Extrait

MY REACH

MY REACH

a h u d s o n r ive r me mo i r

SUSAN FOX ROGERS

cornell university press ithaca and london

This publication was made possible, in part, through the generous support of a Faculty Research Grant from Bard College.

Copyright © 2011 by Cornell University

All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in a review, this book, or parts thereof, must not be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the publisher. For information, address Cornell University Press, Sage House, 512 East State Street, Ithaca, New York 14850.

First published 2011 by Cornell University Press Printed in the United States of America

Library of Congress CataloginginPublication Data

Rogers, Susan Fox.  My reach: a Hudson River memoir/Susan Fox Rogers.  p. cm.  Includes bibliographical references.  ISBN 9780801450075 (cloth: alk. paper)  1. Hudson River (N.Y. and N.J.)—Description and travel. 2. Rogers, Susan Fox—Travel—Hudson River (N.Y. and N.J.) I. Title.  F127.H8R64 2011  974.7’3—dc22 2011012919

Cornell University Press strives to use environmentally responsible suppliers and materials to the fullest extent possible in the publishing of its books. Such materials include vegetablebased, lowVOC inks and acidfree papers that are recycled, totally chlorinefree, or partly composed of nonwood fibers. For further information, visit our website at www. cornellpress.cornell.edu.

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Thisbookisdedicatedwithlovetothe memory of my parents, Jacqueline and Thomas Rogers

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c o n t e n t s

 1. What Lingers 2. My Reach  3. Swimming the Hudson  4. Courage  5. Home  6. A Life in a Boat  7. The Lost Dunes of Childhood  8. The Speed of Wind and Water  9. I’m Glad You Are Here 10. The Long Loneliness 11.Solace

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1 7 19 29 51 65 73 79 91 97 105

v i i i ◊ o n t e n t s C

12. Learning the River 13. If You Are Lucky 14.Fishing 15. Circling the City 16. Nubian Goats 17. Sturgeon Moon 18. Sitting by the River 19. Golden Club 20. Grave Sites 21. Summer Solstice 22. Love for a River

BooksConsulted Acknowledgments

115 127 139 145 157 163 169 179 187 197 209

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a n o t e t o t h e r e a d e r

ThisbookchroniclesmytimeontheHudsonRiverfromthefall of 2004 to the summer of 2007. I paddled with many people and met others on the river; some names have been changed in this narra tive. Many aspects of the river have altered since my writing—graffiti has been painted over; crumbling houses have been renovated or torn down; secret spots where I camped are now posted with No Trespass ing signs; and ragged landings have been redone with picnic tables. I have left details as I saw and experienced them. I feel that these changes are part of the beauty of the river. Environmentalissuestouchedoninthisstory—inparticularthe cleanup of PCBs and the regulation of Indian Point—continue to evolve. General Electric began dredging in the spring of 2009 and then stopped its efforts in the summer of 2010 as high levels of PCBs were detected downstream. The conversation about what will happen next is active. There is much I have left out—the range of the Hudson is such that I could offer only a slice of history and natural history. I have worked to be as accurate as possible. Any mistakes are my own.