Secret Sounds of Ponds

In Secret Sounds of Ponds, environmental musician and ecopoet David Rothenberg tosses a microphone into a pond and we read (and hear) about an entirely new realm: the unexpected and stirring rhythms of some of the smallest and loudest creatures on Earth. Recording the songs of the animals and plants inhabiting each pond reveals a different perspective than what we meet in our human society. Rothenberg makes this music real though his engaging prose and conversations with environmentalists ranging from Werner Herzog to Peter Gabriel to ecologists specializing in these unique waterscapes. Each pond episode brings the reader closer to a new understanding of the non-human world that we share.

Rothenberg has previously investigated, recorded, and collaborated with the music of birds and whales. Now he writes, “Having heard the pond, I want to join the pond, making music no one species could make alone.” His energizing and technological research combines with a musician’s and poet’s creative aptitude as he discovers the orchestration of ecosystems, uncovering new connections lurking beneath the silent surface. Secret Sounds of Ponds is replete with full-color photographs and musical works presented both as colorful spectrograms and as QR codes that you can listen to with your phone. Some are musical, some are rhythmic, some Rothenberg accompanies on his clarinet. Roof Books is pleased to present its readers with this entirely new poetry of sound and humanity.