Morgan, Lawrence E. (Author)
University of New Mexico
Sanders, Scott P.
Edition Details: Advisor: Sanders, Scott P.
Physical Details: 124 pp.
Language: English
This dissertation examines the writing of John Gierach, America's most widely read fly fishing author, as one of the best examples of the genre of science and nature writing. Three of Gierach's essay collections are specifically examined. They are _Trout Bum_ (1986), _At the Grave of the Unknown Fisherman_ (2003), and _Still Life with Brook Trout_ (2005). _Trout Bum_ was Gierach's first published collection of essays, and the book that spawned his popularity. One criterion used to define science and nature writing in this dissertation is writing that draws on the presentation of facts in scientific-like writing, and the personal narrative style of traditional nature writing. This definition is derived from a continuum posited by Edward O. Wilson. At one end of Wilson's continuum is the literary pole and, at the opposite end, the science pole. The science and nature writing genre, exemplified by Gierach's writing, is located between these two poles, employing traits of each pole. A second criterion used to define science and nature writing is characteristics suggested by Richard Johnson-Sheehan and Paul Bogard. Vital to these characteristics is the role of context, the idea that landscape, scene, or the environment becomes actively involved in the narrative. A third criterion defining science and nature writing is William C. Stephenson's redefinition of the nature essay, which specifies, among other points, that the factual presentation of details is central to the essay. Gierach's writing is shown to use these characteristics in _Trout Bum, At the Grave of the Unknown Fisherman, _ and _Still Life with Brook Trout._ Furthermore, textual examples from the writing of Mary Austin (_Land of Little Rain_), Aldo Leopold (_A Sand County Almanac_), Rachel Carson (_ The Sea Around Us_), and Craig Childs (_The Secret Knowledge of Water_) are juxtaposed with Gierach's writing to demonstrate how Gierach's writing is situated within the science and nature writing genre. Finally, a personal interview with Gierach provides commentary in his words on his writing.
...MoreDescription Cited in Diss. Abstr. Int. A 67/06 (2006): 2159. UMI pub. no. 3220920.
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