Astream: American Writers on Fly Fishing

by Robert DeMott (Editor), Howell Raines (Foreword by)

Overview

This marvelous collection features stories from some of America’s finest and most respected writers about one of the world’s most solitary and satisfying sports: fly fishing. For the first time, the stories of thirty-one acclaimed writers including Kim Barnes, Walter Bennett, Russell Chatham, Guy de la Valdène, Robert DeMott, Chris Dombrowski, Ron Ellis, Jim Fergus, Kate Fox, Charles Gaines, Bruce Guernsey, Jim Harrison, Pam Houston, Michael Keaton, Greg Keeler, Sydney Lea, Ted Leeson, Nick Lyons, Craig Mathews, Thomas McGuane, Joseph Monninger, Howard Frank Mosher, Jake Mosher, Craig Nova, Margot Page, Datus Proper, Le Anne Schreiber, Paul Schullery, W. D. Wetherell, and Robert Wrigley come together in one collection. Fly fishers and non-fly fishers alike will recognize in these poignant tales the universal aspects of the appreciation of nature, the necessity of conservation, and the joy and knowledge that come from time spent on fresh and salt water. This is a delightful, handsome volume that captures the allure and spirit of fly fishing and those that love it.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781620874103
Publisher:	Skyhorse
Publication date:	06/11/2012
Sold by:	SIMON & SCHUSTER
Format:	eBook
Pages:	288
Sales rank:	753,104
File size:	4 MB

About the Author

Robert DeMott is Edwin and Ruth Kennedy Distinguished Professor of English at Ohio University and author or editor of many books, including Steinbeck's Typewriter: Essays on His Art, Brief and Glorious Transit: Prose Poems, Afield: American Writers on Bird Dogs, and Astream: American Writers on Fly Fishing. A flyfisherman for more than half a century, he is a Federation of Fly Fishers certified casting instructor and life member of Trout Unlimited. He lives in Athens, Ohio, with writer and editor Kate Fox.

Table of Contents

Preface and Acknowledgments vii

List of Illustrations xiv

Howell Raines, Foreword xvii

"Introduction: Writers Fishing, Fishers Writing" Robert DeMott xx

"Why I Fish" Kim Barnes 1

"Black Quill" Walter Bennett 9

"A Set of Tides" Russell Chatham 18

"Remembering Woody" Guy de la Valdene 36

"Deserve's Got Nothing to Do with It" Robert DeMott 45

"Brainwashing" Chris Dombrowski 53

"A Lovely Simplicity" Ron Ellis 61

"Let's Do It Again Next Year" Jim Fergus 68

"Life Among the Anglish" Kate Fox 80

"Rivers Owned in the Mind" Charles Gaines 90

"A Line in Still-Cold Water" Bruce Guernsey 97

"Older Fishing" Jim Harrison 102

"In the Company of Men (Redux)" Pam Houston 111

"Moving Water" Michael Keaton 120

"Sourdough Down" Greg Keeler 126

"Epic and Idyll" Sydney Lea 135

"Donor" Ted Leeson 143

"Indian Summer of a Fly Fisher" Nick Lyons 152

"In the Nick of Time" Craig Mathews 162

"Seeing Snook" Thomas McGuane 169

"A Night on the Kennebago" Joseph Monninger 180

"The Legacy" Howard Frank Mosher 188

"September 23, 2010" Jake Mosher 197

"A Shell Game" Craig Nova 207

"Inside, Looking Out" Margot Page 214

"May" Datus Proper 226

"Life After Fly Fishing" Le Anne Schreiber 239

"Dithering over Dogs" Paul Schullery 248

"Local Knowledge" W. D. Wetherell 257

"Fishing Together" Robert Wrigley 264

Contributors' Notes 273