The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating (11 page)

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

B
OOK WRITING IS MOSTLY
a solitary pursuit, but this particular project brought me partway out of my shell. If it weren’t for E. LaRoche, I might never have written the earlier essay that led to this book. I owe thanks to E. Somers at the
Missouri Review,
as well as to C. Mason, both of whom noticed the snail story when it was barely hatched. When I began to read about gastropods, I did not know I would fall in love with malacology literature. As I wove thousands of scientific words into my personal snail observations, M. Porter’s excellent developmental editing skills, particularly her fearless and flawless insight as to what to cut, were invaluable. Undaunted by my endless revisions, M. took the project under her wing, reading every draft and surviving the feat miraculously.

Great appreciation and respect go to L. Osterbrock, D. Dwyer, and P. Blanchard; each of them brought editorial savvy to my pages and responded with good humor even when hearing from me out of the blue and sometimes at unusual hours; it is a lucky writer who has editorial friends with perfectionist streaks in different time zones. When I thought I had finished the manuscript, J. Babb smartly nudged me into doing one last editorial pass, which turned out to be essential. Thanks to L. Babb for her response on a pivotal chapter.

The following friends read one or more drafts, and their terrific questions, thoughts, and suggestions helped me shape and deepen the story: K. Adams, D. Smith, A. Levine, D. Graham, D. R. Warren, P. Kamin, L. Fisher, and S. Lester. Astute advice and support came at various junctures from J. Hamilton, T. Coburn, and J. Babb. Thanks to the MacDowell Colony and the Vermont Studio Center, and my heartfelt gratitude to S. Tullberg for making impossible dreams happen.

Timothy A. Pearce, who must have been a gastropod in his past life, is a remarkable malacologist. He answered zillions of questions with astonishing patience, thoughtfulness, curiosity, and infinite knowledge. Every time I glided too far into gastropod territory and got stuck, Tim came to my rescue. Great appreciation to the biologist Ken Hotopp, who knows just where to find a New England
Neohelix albolabris
and exactly what it might be up to at any given moment. I was lucky to have Tim and Ken as snail consultants. The thought-provoking, occasionally startling, and sometimes funny conversations and correspondence I had with them expanded my understanding of these small animals and their place in the world. If any error in malacology information has found its way into these pages, it is most certainly mine, not theirs.

Gratitude to the wetlands ecologist A. Calhoun for her early avid reading of the manuscript; to K. Vencile for his fascinating feedback; to Dr. R. Smith for his infectious-disease knowledge and his interest in malacology; to the staff at the University of Maine Cooperative Extension; and to the wonderfully kind and always helpful librarians at my local library.

I am also indebted to the nineteenth-century naturalists whose words enrich these pages. They observed every nuance of snail behavior, and their lyrical writings are unconstrained by today’s more technical scientific language.

A special thanks to N. Glassman, who found the snail and without whom this story would never have happened. Appreciation to H. Schuman for sharing his love of words and to J. Miles for sharing her love of the natural world. For fulfilling a lifelong longing for island writing, I owe thanks to the Websters. To Kathryn Davis: you gave me the gift of my own words—few gifts are as great.

My agent Ellen Levine and my editor Elisabeth Scharlatt believed in a very small story about an even smaller creature, and despite the hurried pace of the publishing field, they had the patience to wait for the final draft. Thanks, also, to the good staff at Algonquin Books and Workman Publishing; to R. Careau for her excellent, meticulous, and thoughtful copyediting and fact checking; to L. Lieberman for his wise counsel; and to C. Ferland, M. Schuman, K. Bray, and C. Guillette.

A number of people helped with language translations: W. Smith and L. Hill (Chinese); A. McCormick and C. Stancioff (French); T. Hayes (Latin); Anna Booth and Erica Walch (Italian); and K. Hardy (Wabanaki). Many of my questions on the haiku of Issa and Buson were thoughtfully answered by D. G. Lanoue and J. Reichhold.

Thanks to Kathy Bray for her exquisite soft pencil half-tone illustrations, which reveal the private everyday moments in a snail’s life. Working with Kathy was a rare and wonderful opportunity. My gratitude to Susan Brand for her lovely cover snail and to D. R. Warren for kindly filming an adventurous
Neohelix albolabris.

A heartfelt thanks to all the folks who have accompanied me throughout my journey through illness or joined me along the way for the side trips. Please know how appreciated you are and that this book would not have happened without you. Some of you have a rare ability to understand and accept the invisible, and I could not have survived without that support: S. Tullberg, D. Lamparter, S. Spinney, L. Maria, A. Swan, and two truly exceptional physicians, Dr. C. Rosen and Dr. D. Bell.

Lastly, to all the creatures who at one point or another have shared their lives with me, including the snail and its 118 offspring, my deep
Homo sapiens
thanks.

APPENDIX: TERRARIA

I
ALWAYS KEEP SEVERAL
terraria of woodland plants in the house year-round. If you want to make a plant terrarium you can use any glass container or jar. Keep in mind that mosses, ferns, lichens, and other woodland plant species are often slow growing. Taking a few plants from a large patch of an unprotected species, on land you own or have permission to dig on, is usually fine. However, if you don’t know your plants well, please consult a botanist first to make sure you are not taking species that might be endangered and protected by law. Alternatively, woodland plant material can be acquired from horticultural suppliers who specialize in their propagation. If the terrarium is to be inhabited by a living creature, make sure the propagated plants are organically grown.

Loam from the woods usually contains eggs of some creature or another, so occasionally an unexpected new friend may hatch out and surprise you.

Much can be learned from observing a snail where you find it, and letting it continue on with its life, undisturbed. If you choose to keep a snail for a little while, please give it the most natural home possible in a quiet location and provide fresh water and its familiar diet. Treat your snail gently, minimize handling, and return it to the same location where it was found, within the same season. I was glad when my snails were returned to their native habitat, and while I loved having them stay with me, I am most comfortable knowing that wild creatures are in their wild environments.

SELECTED SOURCES

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———.
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———.
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