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"Now it's almost too late"
an interview with Mike Tidwell
BY LISA MACKIE
 Despite
Mike Tidwell's busy schedule promoting Bayou Farewell,
accepting awards, and ticketing SUVs, the Voice had a chance
to talk with him recently about his hopes and fears.
LM: What has happened with conservation
efforts since the publication of your book, BayouFarewell?
MT: Two weeks after the publication date
(March 4), I got a phone call from Louisiana Governor Mike
Foster, a Republican, asking me to come to the Louisiana governor's
mansion for the opening day of the legislative session on
March 31. He bought 1500 copies of the book. He gave a copy
to every member of the Louisiana legislature and made it a
part of his State of the State address. I was a guest at the
mansion and the governor and I gave a press conference. The
governor has been very concerned about coastal land loss and
he views the book as a vehicle to educate the public.
LM: How did you take notes or capture
conversations while you were working on this book?
MT: When I first meet a subject, I keep
my reporter's notebook and camera hidden away. I identify
myself as a writer. You have to gain their trust and confidence
and then, after, I ask if I can pull out my notebook.
When I was working as a deck hand I had my notebook
in my back pocket, and I would drop everything and run to
the wheelhouse to take notes. I used a tape recorder a little
to capture sound, but you gotta keep notes in a notebook.
LM: What are you doing now
in terms of promoting the book?
MT: I've been doing a decent amount of
promotion. When writing a book , it's a marathon. One and
a half to two years research and writing. By the last quarter,
you're sick of it. So just when you need the maximum amount
of enthusiasm and energy to talk about the book, you have
none left.
I'm lucky I have a good publicist. It's been
keeping me busy. I'm going to Louisiana again to accept an
award from a conservation organization, and I'll be signing
books at Jazz Fest in New Orleans.
LM: Do you have any other book
projects planned?
MT: I've ratcheted down my freelance
writing career. I am extremely alarmed about global climate
change. I have dedicated my life to it in mid-career, starting
an organization called the Chesapeake Climate Action Network.
I'm doing organizing and advocacy. It's the first time in
my professional life that creative writing is not at the center.
I wasn't tired of it, I feel that this other thing needs to
be a priority.
In Louisiana, the coast was disappearing. Everybody
went into profound denial. Now, it's almost too late.
LM: What do you hope will be the effect
of this book?
MT: My modest, bottom-line hope is that
this book will help Louisiana understand the problem, help
politicians to educate people in South Louisiana. The governor
gave copies to the media, the Louisiana House and Senate,
every member of the U.S. Congress, and George Bush.
My larger hope is that the book could somehow
reach a national audience. One third of our domestic seafood
comes from coastal Louisiana, and about one third of our energy
is drilled for or passes through Louisiana. It's a national
treasure. The whole country needs to pitch in and help craft
a solution.
We can tame nature, levee the great Mississippi
River, but guess what happens? Nature has the last say. Natural
forces are reacting to our folly that we can dominate nature
instead of living sustainably. One message I hope readers
get out of this book is that we recognize we have to live
sustainably, sustain our delicate atmosphere.
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