The new book by artist and activist David Marquis arrived in August, long before the Jan. 6 invasion of the Capitol. But the lessons of Marquis’ book feel eerily prescient. Even the title feels like something the America of 2021 needs to hear.
The River Always Wins: Water as a Metaphor for Hope and Progress.
Marquis’ book was already gaining traction before Jan. 6, with praise from such voices as Ron Charles, a book critic for The Washington Post.
“I’ve taken some solace in a little book my sister-in-law sent me called The River Always Wins, by conservationist David Marquis,” Charles wrote. “I’m usually allergic to modern works of inspiration, but there’s something calming about Marquis’ aphorisms on the persistent, irresistible force of water.”
Almost everyone would agree, early in this new year, that “calming” is something we need.
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As a man who will soon turn 70, Marquis hears the ongoing chatter about America being horribly divided but shakes his head at those who insist it’s something new. As a baby boomer, he well remembers the divisive horror of the Vietnam War, when sons angered fathers by refusing to fight, declaring themselves to be conscientious objectors or, in some cases, fleeing to Canada.
So, yes, we have been here before. Then as now, there is much to learn, Marquis says, by turning to nature. Nature, he contends, provides both a blueprint for change and balm for the soul.
Marquis long ago carved out a distinguished reputation by splitting his time between the arts and education, the environment and human rights.
He founded the 118-acre Oak Cliff Nature Preserve, which saved virgin forest from being bulldozed.
In 1984, he served as an election observer in El Salvador and a year later traveled to South Africa during the anti-apartheid movement. He has also been a longtime consultant on water issues, such as how to restore the Colorado River and improve water quality in the Trinity River.
So, yes, water is the force at the heart of The River Always Wins, whose publisher is Dallas’ Deep Vellum Books. And on Feb. 9, The River Always Wins and Above Us the Milky Way, a novel by Denton resident Fowzia Karimi, will emerge in a second format, becoming Deep Vellum’s first audiobooks.
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“I started working on the book in 2014,” Marquis says. “So, it’s been cooking for a while. It’s a gumbo that’s been on the stove for a long time, simmering and cooking.”
Marquis grew up in Buddy Holly’s Lubbock during the 1950s, and make no mistake, Lubbock has never been mistaken for San Diego. Even so, the dry terrain of the High Plains gave birth to Marquis’ lifelong fascination with its natural antithesis — water.
“Because I grew up in West Texas, water is really special to me. For me, a glass of water is a big deal.”
But it’s more than that. For Marquis, water endures as a force with powers that go well beyond its value as an agent of hydration. He sees it as nothing less than a metaphor for life, one that symbolizes the emotional growth of human beings — and with it, the power to change.
Social change, he says, is best described in the poetry of water, which can show how drops of water taken collectively can coalesce into a force strong enough “to inspire change and achieve social justice.”
Marquis graduated from Austin College in Sherman, about which he says, “I got a great education there that continues to inform everything I do.”
He followed up his days at Austin College by spending years as a teacher. In 1976, one of his former students was shot to death. Haunted by the student’s passing, Marquis responded by writing a trilogy of plays titled I Am a Teacher.
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In his own way, Marquis continues to teach, and these days, he has more than enough material. Race and climate change are two of the issues he frets about.
“We have been distracted from climate change by the pandemic and by the election. But climate change didn’t take a break. It didn’t sit in the corner. It is still very real, especially for younger generations.”
When he thinks of climate change, he thinks back to his days as a theatrical performer, when just about anything could interrupt a performance.
“The art,” he says, “is adapting — to the audience and to the situation.”