The Literary Fly Fisher

First, my apologies for the long absence. I offer my thanks to those of you those of you who queried about a new post during that time. I write today to let you know about another piece of writing you might enjoy.

Earlier this month, writer Rebecca McCarthy published an essay about Norman Maclean in The American Scholar. In the essay, she recounts meeting him in Seeley Lake, Montana, while visiting her brother. The essay is titled “Norman Maclean and Me: Advice for Living and Drinking from the Author of A River runs through It” (great title, eh?).

McCarthy describes spending time with Maclean, whose summer home was near her brother’s, during a pivotal time in her teen years. Maclean, who knew the young woman wrote poetry, offered her advice and convinced her to attend the University of Chicago, from which he had recently retired.

She describes a visit to the 7 Up Ranch Supper Club, near Lincoln, for dinner. The restaurant burned down years ago, but locals will remember it fondly. And many non-locals from small towns will relate to the discussion in the essay about how being an intellectual in rural Montana or in South Carolina, where McCarthy lived as a girl, can sometimes be a lonely or even limiting experience.

McCarthy paints Maclean as a kind but colorful man, and any fan of his work will enjoy the essay. The publication notes that McCarthy is currently working on a book about Maclean. Meanwhile, you can find other examples of McCarthy’s excellent writing in The American Scholar, at Long Reads, and elsewhere.

I’ll be back soon.

This entry was posted on December 14, 2019 at 5:37 PM and is filed under Fly Fishing. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.