Ready for Launch

The first steps of a year-long journey down a 200 mile river

Today is my official first day of what I’m calling The Cahaba Project. This project has been mulling around inside my head for a year or two. I told myself wouldn’t it be cool to do what all those nature folks do: immerse one’s self in a place for a stretch of time, let it completely take over your life for a bit, and then, write about it. You know those adventures you tell yourself would be nice or cool if you had the time or money to do? Yeah, this is that.

I’ve long since been in love with the Cahaba River. At 194 miles long, it’s the longest free-flowing stretch of river in the state of Alabama. It is one of the most bio-diverse rivers on this continent and provides a significant portion of drinking water to Alabama residents. If you’ve ever spent any time on its waters—you know the Cahaba is breathtakingly gorgeous.

Kayaking the Cahaba from one end to the other to generate a collection of poetry seemed liked one of those things I’d like to do but would probably never actually happen. That was, at least, until I pitched the idea to Alabama State Council of the Arts. And wouldn’t you know, they said yes.

So, with funding from the ASCA and plenty of support from family, friends, and the Cahaba River Society folks, I’m off on the adventure. And if you’re wondering how I’m going about knowing how to do any of this. The answer is, I have no idea. I’m making it up as I go along and learning as I’m going. This newsletter is here to document the process and share with others what works and what doesn’t. This is a space to peel back the layers on my plans, thoughts, and stumbling-throughs.

So, what makes today the official first day? Today I made my first purchase toward the project: books. I took myself down to the best bookstore in the world—Thank You Books—and loaded up with a short-stack of ecology titles. I firmly believe that bettering yourself as a writer means reading like crazy. I want to put myself in the headspace of other naturalists, writers, and artists so I can approach the river with deep appreciation, knowledge, and wonder. If you’ve got book or article recommendations, please share!

This newsletter will end when the project does: in about a year. I have until September of 2023 to complete my intended goals. If you know anything about anything, wanna talk river or reading, or want to be involved along the way, give me a shout. Just like how the Cahaba is communal, this project is as well. Hit that subscribe button at the bottom of this post to get email updates and share the link with others who might be interested. I love having you all along on the journey.

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