“Ahead of the curve. . . . Wardi’s work helps us see clearly and deeply the infinite interconnections and parallels that make this relationship such a complex planetary, human, and cultural concern.”—Tulsa Studies in Women’s Literature
“Anissa Wardi’s stimulating study addresses a crucial motif in African American expressive tradition, examining the trope of water, and bodies of water, in terms of its cultural, spiritual, historical, and political contexts and meanings.”—Modern Language Review
“Ambitious and well-researched. . . . Wardi undertakes this investigation through an examination of several twentieth-century cultural texts by writers Ntozake Shange, Toni Morrison, Henry Dumas, and Richard Wright; filmmakers Julie Dash and Kasi Lemmons; and blues singers Muddy Waters and Bessie Smith.”—Callaloo
“Shows that in addition to the Atlantic Ocean of the Middle Passage, sites of African American memory include all forms of water—rivers, swamps, lakes, fog, and hurricanes. . . . This is a worthy eco-critical perspective.”—CHOICE
