Seaweed Book

After Miek’s seaweed anthology Wieren appeared in German translation (Algen) by Bettina Bach at Matthes & Seitz it now is available in English as well. Last summer Michele Hutchison stayed at Knockvologan to ‘dive for the right words’ as she calls it in her essay about the translation process which you can read here: Dutch Foundation for Literature. The full colour illustrated book just came out in two different versions: as The Seaweed Collector’s Handbook at Profile Books and as Seaweed An Enchanting Miscellany at Greystone books. Cover, title and spelling differ, but the content is equal and tells about the role of seaweed in cultural history, science, art, literature, film, fashion and the kitchen. Review by Helen Bynum

A treasure chest filled with fascinating, horizon-widening, mind-expanding curiosities and moments of awe and wonder on every page. Zwamborn is an artist-polymath: erudite, wide-ranging and magpie-like. She takes us underwater to a world of iridescence rainbow weed, sea monsters, space algae and world-saving kelp. She opens up the sea for us with an intriguing mixture of cultural and natural history, acute observations and enchanting illustrations and challenges us to slow down and engage in a radical noticing and joy of seeing we all need. I am now completely obsessed by seaweed.

Lucy Jones author of Losing Eden

Wieren
illustrations Miek Zwamborn
cover & typography Jaap Blansjaar
Van Oorschot, Amsterdam
2018

Algen
translation Bettina Bach
illustrations Falk Nordmann
cover & typography Pauline Altmann
design by Judith Schalansky
Matthes & Seitz, Berlin
2019

The Seaweed Collector’s Handbook
translation Michele Hutchison
illustrations Miek Zwamborn
cover & typography Peter Dyer
Profile Books, London
2020

Seaweed An Enchanting Miscellany
translation Michele Hutchison
illustrations Miek Zwamborn
cover Fiona Siu
typography Henry Iles
Greystone Books, Vancouver
2020