Black Swan Lake: Life of a Wetland

This title is part of emerging fields in film studies (transnational, ecocriticism). It features a wide range of films from established and emerging filmmakers and industries. It focuses on different national contexts, as well as on art and commercial cinema. Ecocritical approaches are increasingly recognised/popular in the humanities. Rod Giblett came to live by Forrestdale Lake in southwestern Australia in 1986. Based in part on a nature journal he kept for several years, “Black Swan Lake” traces the life of the plants and animals of the surrounding area through the seasons. Presenting a wetlands calendar that charts the yearly cycle of the rising, falling, and drying waters of this internationally significant wetland, this book is a modern-day Walden. The first book to provide a cultural and natural history of this place – taking into account the indigenous people’s concept of the seasons (six instead of four) – “Black Swan Lake” will be enjoyed by conservationists, as well as others seeking connection with place, plants, and animals in their own bioregion.