Slicing Through the Swamps

Any reference to the rich cultural stew that is southern Louisiana would be incomplete without taking note of the liquid in that stew. As folklorist Nicholas Spitzer points out, understanding southern Louisiana requires a deep knowledge of human relationships with water—specifically including the rich natural resources that can be found in a land that is “saturated,” not just in the sense of cultural diversity, but also literally. Particularly during the past few centuries, though, humans have done much to rearrange those saturated soils.i