“Sit beside a stream,
Write about your life …”
|
These words have been taken seriously by ron P. swegman, author of the new book Philadelphia on the Fly: Tales of an Urban Angler.
When he's not repairing books or binding journals at Scott Library, Swegman chronicles his adventures fly-fishing, and this set of tales is set along the Philadelphia County stretches of Wissahickon Creek and the Schuylkill River. Philadelphia on the Fly is the first volume of a projected trilogy of fish tales. Each story can stand on its own, but the sequence takes us with the author along a path of self-discovery and personal renewal through the medium of fly-fishing.
Swegman's earlier published work has been in poetry (museum of buildings: poems); he has been active in Philadelphia literary groups and poetry readings. At first, the notion of fly-fishing was merely an exercise and emotional connection to some personal history but, as time passed, he found himself writing to family and friends about his experiences, creating what he calls “verbal home movies.” Eventually, he “decided to fashion it into a book that approximated the experience of cycling from Center City to the Wissahickon Valley and back, pausing now and then and here and there to read the various posted signs and historical markers.” 
The stories explore the fraternity of fishermen, historical settings around Fairmount Park, and the beauty of the recovered Schuylkill River ecosystem. A catch-and-release advocate, Swegman even includes a story about a fish that needed CPR. In his season on the Schuylkill and Wissahickon Swegman caught and released over a dozen types of sport fish, ranging from sunfish to channel catfish and brown trout. He observed fishing waterfowl like kingfishers and great blue herons in the shadows of skyscrapers - a testimony to the revival of the river.
The book is liberally illustrated with photographs of fish, stream settings, and Wissahickon buildings taken by Swegman on his journeys. Each chapter also delivers a carefully executed color pencil line drawing of a special fly pattern as well. The visual enrichment of an artistic book design helps place a reader on the scene, right beside the writer, tasting his experiences first hand.
AISR's Jeffersoniana collections (books by Jefferson authors) may emphasize the medical arts, but it also includes a healthy dose of other arts as well - novels, mysteries, children's stories, and now fishing tales. Philadelphia on the Fly is available at Scott Library, the Jefferson Bookstore, or via Amazon.com.
Related Links:
