Review: DRIFTFISH (A Zoomorphic Anthology)

Zoomorphic is an online magazine dedicated to celebrating wildlife and nature through the written word and DRIFTFISH, their first anthology, has a particular focus on the marine environment. So it goes without saying that, as a marine scientist, I was instantly drawn to it.

The anthology itself is a beautiful creation. The cover art, three gannets plunging into a tranquil sea, says so much about the drama that hides beneath the surface waves and in a way is a metaphor complementing the contents of this gorgeous little book. For inside that cover, within these pages, are a collection of essays and poems that will transport you, wherever you are, back to the sea.

This isn’t a book to be read in one sitting but one to be taken in small chunks, each poem or essay pondered over and allowed to resonate. For resolute they do, each unique and powerful in the own right. It is a joy to discover so many authors who love the sea as much as I do.

I would be hard pushed to pick out any favourites from within these pages for all the content here is powerful and evocative but the opening essay, Standing on Stromatolites certainly appealed to my inner geologist and I found the Brief Eulogies for Lost Animals particularly poignant.

All in all this is a gorgeous book, a real gem to be treasured and I challenge even the most hardened of land lubbers not to feel moved by the spirit of the sea.

This is a book that would make a wonderful gift – although you might want to get yourself a copy as well because it’s something you’ll want to keep to immerse yourself in again and again. That is the joy of pieces like these. Each time you read them you take something new away from those words.

And now the sea is calling to me too.

Buy DRIFTFISH.