What the River Was invites readers to journey through the flowing currents of memory, loss, and resilience. Drawing inspiration from the natural world and rural landscapes, Andrew McIver’s poetry explores themes of interconnectedness, environmental reverence, and the intimate beauty found in ordinary moments.

From muskrats and barred owls to the hum of cicadas in the southern summer haze, McIver captures the pulse of life teetering between the wild and the human-made. These poems navigate questions of identity, belonging, and the delicate balance between destruction and renewal, all while celebrating the quiet strength of the river—a constant companion and witness to life's transformations.

For readers of Mary Oliver and Frank Stanford, this collection offers a lyrical meditation on the forces that shape us and the natural world. Perfect for lovers of contemporary poetry and environmental literature, What the River Was is a poetic bridge connecting the personal with the universal, reminding us that every small moment carries the weight of the world.
In a year that has not happened in ripples or waves but in whitewater, rushing us toward a destination not yet known to us, What the River Was offers us a chance to pause and to consider the beauty of the world around us, the gravity of small things, and the quiet moments of our everday lives. At the same time, What the River Was asks us to examine the irony of the moments when our awe and appreciation for the environment are overshadowed by overconsumption and inevitably, destruction.

By incorporating both original and found poetry, poetry that pulls words and phrases from existing texts and transforms them into something new, in this two-part collection, we are given the perfect metaphor to describe how we can approach the climate crisis: by leaning into a meaningful repurposing of what already exists.