The Wet Collection [Hardcover]

Joni Tevis (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1571313036 | ISBN-13: 978-1571313034 | Publication Date: June 14, 2007 | Edition: First Edition

Joni Tevis’s concern is with the precise relationship of components in the world: how one element in an environment interacts with others. How does the antique taxidermy in a natural science museum relate to the living birds outside the window? How do the opals found by campers, stored in mineral oil to conserve the water trapped inside, relate to the water table? “My practice is observation. How do relationships illuminate?” Using such models as Joseph Cornell’s box constructions, crazy quilts, and specimen displays, Tevis places fragments in relationship to each other in order to puzzle out lost histories, particularly those of women. Throughout The Wet Collection, the narrator navigates the peril and excitement of an outward journey complicated by an inward longing for home.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Tevis's writing, a showcase for her interests in religion, memoir, natural study and women's history, is precise and unique, and in this collection of musings, she builds big ideas out of small fragments. She captures, for instance, the attitude of a modern airplane passenger ("Today I'm a traveler, a person suspended. Today I'll do only what is asked") as well as that of a long-gone pioneer ("They left in a hurry, most of them, as if they'd hung on as long as they could, and when they finally gave in, they didn't have a minute to spare"). Tevis's range is impressive: her sardonic recollection of her work as a funeral home salesperson makes for a fun essay, while in another piece she imparts a singular voice in imagining the thoughts of a farmer's wife. Some of the pieces are too brief to make an impact, but even in the shortest, Travis shows a poet's care for cadence and word choice. Far from the typical memoir or essay collection, this volume showcases a unique, meticulous and inviting voice.
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Product Details

• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: Milkweed Editions; First Edition edition (June 14, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1571313036
• ISBN-13: 978-1571313034
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 5.9 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #510,270 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Bright New View, August 23, 2007

By 

S. J. Makielski (Tallahassee, FL United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Wet Collection (Hardcover)

This is a wonderful collection of essays, each looking at something different, but always finding the unusual in the usual. Occasionally the writing is almost poetic, but it is always strong and clear. A wonderful book to read straight through or to dip into from time to time.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A memoir anthology of essays drawn from the life experience of author Joni Tevis, November 3, 2007

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Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Wet Collection (Hardcover)

The Wet Collection is a memoir anthology of essays drawn from the life experience of author Joni Tevis, and combined with her thoughts on natural history, ancient texts, folk heroes, and found objects. Part memoir, part literature, part measured opinion, and part research, The Wet Collection touches upon Tevis' adventures ranging from her summer spent working as a cemetery salesman to having to dress up as a beaver while serving the duty of a park ranger to the simple hardship of coping with homesickness. An atmospheric and deeply introspective tour of life, thought, and womanhood. "Maybe scraps are all we've ever had; threads of mycelium working through forest duff, a woman made from a crumb of clay. These fragments I have shared, these pieces I have squirreled away. I have wished for sharper ears to hear the rasp of wasp chewing wood into paper, to hear water pumping through the arteries of thin-barked beech trees. Have wished for a body more sensitive, to feel the slow swelling of yeasty lava that lifts the mountain a little more every day. Sometimes I swear I can feel the earth rising, bearing me up."

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A lovely gem of a book, February 13, 2008

By 

Sawadee Reader (Riverside, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Wet Collection (Hardcover)

Sometimes you come upon a book and discover that it rocks. This is one of those times. The Wet Collection is quirky and beautiful and funny and solemn. The writing here is wonderful and the stories are compelling. This is a fantastic book--and one I'm so pleased to own.