Old Growth

Astonishing biodiversity exists in Congaree National Park, the largest intact expanse of old growth bottomland hardwood forest remaining in the southeastern United States. Waters from the Congaree and Wateree Rivers sweep through the floodplain, carrying nutrients and sediments that nourish and rejuvenate this ecosystem and support the growth of national and state champion trees.

To celebrate Congaree's vast, complex, and enchanting history, we invited writers and artists to submit their work inspired by the park and their relationship to the physical space it occupies. Poets, essayists, painters, photographers, and more submitted their art and writing after spending time in and around Congaree, experiencing all its wonders and curiosities, and forming their own unique relationship to it.

Many of the works of art and writing incorporate the important history of the region as a place of rest and refuge for Native and African Americans, as well as pieces that feature the unique biodiversity of the Congaree Biosphere Reserve, named by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site, and Congaree National Park, which contains the largest intact expanse of old growth bottomland hardwood forest remaining in the southeastern United States. The anthology will express the ways in which the landscape mirrors the resilience of the people who inhabited this area from the pre-historic to the present.