Talking Tidewater features such noted authors as John Barth, William Warner, Jonathan Yardley, Eugene McCarthy, and Tom Horton. “Our purpose in this anthology,” writes editor Richard Harwood in the Foreward, “is to sort through the abundance of good and bad Chesapeake literature, choose some of the choicest fare and serve it up on a single plate for the pleasure, enlightenment and convenience of readers.” Autobiographical essays in the first section give us intimations of the influence of oceans, bays, beaches, islands and rivers on the imagination, dreams and self-identity of their authors. The middle section celebrates the human and cultural variety of the region, its customs, traditions and eccentricities. The final essays examine the malign and accidental forces that threaten the health and wealth of the bay and the survival of the distinctive character and lifestyles that have inspired and informed the work of generations of literary men and women.