Swamp Songs cover art

Swamp Songs

Journeys Through Marsh, Meadow and Other Wetlands

Preview

Try Premium Plus free
1 credit a month to buy any audiobook in our entire collection.
Access to thousands of additional audiobooks and Originals from the Plus Catalogue.
Member-only deals & discounts.
Auto-renews at $16.45/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Swamp Songs

By: Tom Blass
Narrated by: David Thorpe
Try Premium Plus free

$16.45 per month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $24.99

Buy Now for $24.99

Confirm Purchase
Pay using voucher balance (if applicable) then card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions Of Use and Privacy Notice and authorise Audible to charge your designated credit card or another available credit card on file.
Cancel

About this listen

Bloomsbury presents Swamp Songs by Tom Blass, read by David Thorpe.

'Bracingly original' Kathryn Hughes, Guardian

'A mixture of travelogue, local history and reportage, Swamp Songs brims with evocative word sketches' Times Literary Supplement

From Romney Marsh to the Danube Delta, from Cyprus to the bayous of Louisiana and on to the Bay of Bengal, Tom Blass crosses swamps, marshes and wetlands to meet the people who have made these in-between worlds their homes.

Here are true stories and myths of smugglers and runaway slaves, of fishermen, shepherds and salt-gatherers – and of tiger gods, flamingos and floods. A dazzling exploration of the precarious lives led where land and water tussle, Swamp Songs is a vital reappraisal and vibrant celebration of people and environments closely intertwined.

©2022 Tom Blass, Extract from Letters from Iceland by W. H. Auden and Louis MacNeice, published by Faber and Faber © W. H. Auden and Louis MacNeice, 1937Extract from Wintering Out by Seamus Heaney, published by Faber and Faber© Seamus Heaney, 1972 (P)2022 Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Biological Sciences Ecosystems & Habitats Travel Writing & Commentary

Critic Reviews

"What a joy to roam with Tom Blass through some of nature’s most unjustly maligned and underappreciated habitats, where webs of life interconnect wildly and wondrously with human stories. Swamp Songs is a delicious blend of ecology and culture." (Amy-Jane Beer)

What listeners say about Swamp Songs

Average Customer Ratings

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.