Anne McCrary Sullivan & Holly Genzen, The Everglades

Recorded December 8, 2021

Through image and story, Anne McCrary Sullivan and Holly Genzen will introduce the dynamic and beautiful mangrove world of western Everglades National Park.  They will bring to life the voices of scientists, adventurers, photographers, and others who have known a deep engagement with that wildernesses.

Everglades National Park’s mangrove wilderness, extending over 230,000 acres, is the most expansive in the western hemisphere and the largest continuous system of mangroves in the world.  It’s a part of the Park that most visitors do not see except from its mere edges.  To get out there one must take a fish route or a bird route, go by boat or fly over in a plane or helicopter.  No one goes out there without specifically wanting to. This is a book about people who want to. Some go for work, some for adventure, some for philosophy, some for science.  Some go for solitude and some for companionship. Many speak of being tested, meeting challenges of tide, wind, weather, equipment failure, getting lost, sheltering from storms, or recovery from one’s own errors.

Authors Anne McCrary Sullivan and Holly Genzen have conducted interviews and crafted stories from the exact words of the adventurers featured in this book.  The resulting stories of grit and spirit tell a deeper, collective story of the Everglades’ mysterious mangrove wilderness.

Anne McCrary Sullivan grew up on the coast of North Carolina and has lived in Florida for over 30 years. A Florida Master Naturalist with an MFA in Poetry, she has been artist in residence in both Everglades National Park and Big Cypress National Preserve.  Her articles, chapters and poems have appeared in many literary and academic publications.  She is author of Ecology II: Throat Song from the Everglades, and co-author, with Holly Genzen, of Paddling the Everglades Wilderness Waterway.  She holds a PhD in English Education from the University of Florida, has been Poetry Editor of the English Journal and a Fulbright Scholar in Nigeria.  She lives on the Gulf Coast of Florida and spends as much time as possible in the Everglades.

Holly Genzen is a Florida Master Naturalist and an outdoor education specialist.  She has a Masters in Outdoor Education and a PhD in Educational Administration. She has completed a solo thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail and has paddled thousands of miles in central and south Florida.  She is co-author of the guidebook, Paddling the Everglades Wilderness Waterway, an effort that required extensive research into the social and natural history of the area. Her experiences in natural Florida have been the inspiration for her artwork, both in paintings and in her daily nature sketchbook.  She has also been a volunteer at Shenandoah National Park.  Central Florida is currently her home base for adventures in all directions.

Florida Voices in generously supported by the Fred J. Brotherton Endowment for Literature, established at The Four Arts by the Fred J. Brotherton Charitable Foundation. Fred Brotherton, who died in 2003, was for many years a Benefactor of The Four Arts and a strong supporter of its programs. Florida Voices, featuring the state that was Mr. Brotherton’s winter home, serves as a continuing memorial to this much-respected member of The Four Arts.

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