Ann McCutchan, associate professor of creative writing, takes readers on a journey along the Atchafalaya River Basin in Louisiana in her latest book, River Music: An Atchafalaya Story (Texas A&M University Press).

McCutchan focuses on musician Earl Robicheaux, who records the sounds of nature and animals in North America's largest rainforest during a time he endures cancer, Hurricane Katrina and the Deepwater Horizon explosion and oil spill. This is McCutchan's fourth book, which includes a CD of Robicheaux's work. Also this year, she released her third book, a collection of personal essays titled Circular Breathing: Meditations From a Musical Life (Sunstone Press).