Among the Swamp People

Among the Swamp People is the story of author Watt Key's discovery of the Mobile-Tensaw River Delta. "The swamp" consists of almost 260,000 acres of wetlands located just north of Mobile Bay. There he leases a habitable outcropping of land and constructs a primitive cabin from driftwood to serve as a private getaway. His story is one that chronicles the beauties of the delta's unparalleled natural wonders, the difficulties of survival within it, and an extraordinary community of characters-by turns generous and violent, gracious and paranoid, hilarious and reckless-who live, thrive, and perish there.

There is no way into the delta except by small boat. To most it would appear a maze of rivers and creeks between stunted swamp trees and mud. Key observes that there are few places where one can step out of a boat without "sinking to the knees in muck the consistency of axle grease. It is the only place I know where gloom and beauty can coexist at such extremes. And it never occurred to me that a land seemingly so bleak could hide such beauty and adventure."

It also chronicles Key's maturation as a writer, from a twenty-five-year-old computer programmer with no formal training as a writer to a highly successful, award-winning writer of fiction for a young adult audience with three acclaimed novels published to date.

In learning to make a place for himself in the wild, as in learning to write, Key's story is one of "hoping someone-even if just myself-would find value in my creations.