Atchafalaya Houseboat: My Years in the Louisiana Swamp (Hardcover)

~ (Author), C. C. Lockwood (Photographer)
Key Phrases: crawfish traps, swamp gas, Bayou Chene, Bayou Sorrel, Baton Rouge (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In the late 1970s, Roland and Calvin Voisin made a decision to live a pleasantly isolated life: they constructed a houseboat in Louisiana's Atchafalaya River Basin Swamp, caught their own food and made money by trading and welding. Roland and Voisin revel in their isolation, and the joy Roland takes in retelling her experiences is evident on every page. The book is enhanced by nature photographer C.C. Lockwood's photographs, which depict the couple going about their daily houseboat business (and were published in National Geographic). Roland's writing, most of which was done at the time, is highly accessible if at times disjointed. It's hard to discern an exact sequence of events, and certain things seem to happen out of nowhere, like when Roland leaves Voisin for another man, whom she marries. The end of the book, in which Roland discusses her fascination with organic gardening pioneer Robert Rodale and sketches her life today, makes for a less than satisfying ending to an otherwise intriguing look at a disappearing way of life. Photos.
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Product Description

In the early 1970s, two idealistic young people—Gwen Carpenter Roland and Calvin Voisin—decided to leave civilization and re-create the vanished simple life of their great-grandparents in the heart of Louisiana’s million-acre Atchafalaya River Basin Swamp. Armed with a box of crayons and a book called How to Build Your Home in the Woods, they drew up plans to recycle a slave-built structure into a houseboat. Without power tools or building experience they constructed a floating dwelling complete with a brick fireplace. Towed deep into the sleepy waters of Bloody Bayou, it was their home for eight years. This is the tale of the not-so-simple life they made together—days spent fishing, trading, making wine, growing food, and growing up—told by Gwen with grace, economy, and eloquence.

Not long after they took up swamp living, Gwen and Calvin met a young photographer named C. C. Lockwood, who shared their "back to the earth" values. His photographs of the couple going about their daily routine were published in National Geographic magazine, bringing them unexpected fame. More than a quarter of a century later, after Gwen and Calvin had long since parted, one of Lockwood’s photos of them appeared in a National Geographic collector’s edition entitled 100 Best Pictures Unpublished—and kindled the interest of a new generation. That photo and many others by Lockwood are included here.

With quiet wisdom, Gwen recounts her eight-year voyage of discovery—about swamp life, wildlife, and herself. A keen observer of both the natural world and the ways of human beings, she transports readers to an unfamiliar and exotic place, preserving her great adventure for those who did not make the trip in person.

"I [would write] in the stern of our red and green bateau while Calvin was running nets or lines from the bow. Since ink smears when it gets wet, I used pencils on a yellow legal pad propped against the black Mercury outboard motor. Whenever it was time for me to crank the motor and run us to the next line or net, I’d sit on the pad to keep it from blowing away. . . . During the writing process, we carried on our regular conversations. The stories are almost extensions of those conversations, rising and falling with our voices, capturing the essence of our daily lives like our elderberry wine captured the fragrance of April to be released again in October."—from the prologue

AUTHOR BIO: Gwen Roland is a writer and editor for the Southern Region Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program at the University of Georgia in Griffin. She is at work on a novel set one hundred years ago in the Atchafalaya Basin.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 161 pages
• Publisher: Louisiana State University Press (April 15, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0807130893
• ISBN-13: 978-3540037002
• Product Dimensions: 7.2 x 5.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #74,526 in Books (See Bestsellers 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 very interesting book, April 15, 2006

By	louisiana girl (louisiana) - See all my reviews

I could hardly put this book down. It was so interesting to see how Gwen Roland & Calvin Voisin lived for so many years. I also enjoyed reading about all of Gwen's travels all over. She has done things that much of us never even dream of doing!

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A little disappointing, June 14, 2006

By	Lynn Bliss "lynncowan" (Takoma Park, MD United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

It's hard to go wrong with this subject matter, and I would recommend this book wholeheartedly.

But that said, I was a little disappointed in the book, not for what was in it, but for how much more she could have told us. The author has had a rare experience -- who else do you know who has lived on a houseboat in a swamp, without electricity or most modern conveniences, for a decade? Yet I was left feeling that she only related the bare minimum about her years in the swamp. Part of the problem is that the first half of the book appears to contain only her previously-published articles about her life at that time from a small regional magazine, and they are short and lacking a lot of detail. I'm left thinking how much better this book could have been if she had gone back and fleshed those out, adding more information and context. She doesn't discuss how it felt to adjust to such a rustic life, her relationship with the man she shared this life with, or any problems that they encountered, other than their dislike of returning to civilization for supplies every so often. In other words, she doesn't inject much of herself into her descriptions -- her feelings, her hopes or fears.

The second part of the book talks about temporarily working as a cook on a river boat, meeting the man she would later leave Calvin for, and her life since she left the swamp. In many ways, this is the more descriptive part of the book, especially as she details honestly the boredom of riverboat life and the pain of falling in love with another man. I was left imagining what could have been if she had applied the same descriptive style and writing technique to the earlier part of her work.

Again, I am glad I bought this book, but if the author had spent the time beefing up her earlier articles in the first part of the book, when the subject material is far more unusual, I would have given this book a higher rating. There aren't many people who have lived a life like hers, and it's a shame that it isn't more thoroughly described during her swamp years.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful!, April 17, 2006

By	Fred Batchelor - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Special people in a special place wonderfully told by someone you wish you had coffee with in the mornings. One to keep close to your heart.