Summer and water are inextricably related.
This beautiful book was included in a vacation condo hubby and I rented recently. One morning I sat at the kitchen table with a cup of cold brewed coffee and enjoyed the treat that Summertime offers. Much of the poetry and images curated by Joanne Dugan features the many ways we enjoy water during the warmest months of the year.
In the Introduction, Joanne Dugan recalls her own childhood summers on Cape Cod:
The dramatic shifting tides in front of us changed twice every twenty-four hours, like clockwork. There weren’t any clocks that I can remember—it was the rhythm of the water that gave those loose summer days structure.
The book quotes a wide range of writers, including F. Scott Fitzgerald, Anne Morrow Lindbergh, St. Francis of Assisi, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Christopher Columbus, Isaac Newton, John F. Kennedy, Joni Mitchell, Jacques Cousteau, and Emily Dickinson.
The photography ranges from the close-up to the panoramic. One photo might highlight single grains of sand in the sun, while another encompasses miles of sunbathers.
What I loved most about the book was the sense of having returned to moments I’ve seen many times but didn’t think to document.
For example, sea gulls eating french fries, a line of steaming hot dogs, friends hosing each other off after a sandy swim, a beachside high-rise with stacks of identical patio furniture, a pair of flip flops forgotten on the beach.
With a beautiful cover and a neat square shape, this book will compliment a coffee table, guest room bedside table, or porch ottoman.
Reader, what summertime memories do you hold close to your heart?
Here with you,
Laura
