Fishing with Mystery [Speaking of Faith® from American Public Media]

Fishing with Mystery

August 6, 2009
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James Prosek is an artist, fly-fisher, author, and environmental activist who has always, as he puts it, found God "through the theater of nature." From a young age he has been fascinated by trout and now eel — which he sees as "mystical creatures" — and he's captured them literally and artistically, by way of both angling and paint. We explore the sense of meaning and mystery he has developed along the way, including his concern with how we humans limit our sense of other creatures by the names we give them.

About the Image

Austrian schwarzfischer and amateur scientist Johannes Schoffman fishes a mountain stream.

+ (photo: James Prosek)

Program Details

» Particulars ¦ an annotated guide to the radio program with readings, images, and links
» Resources
» Books + Music
» Krista's Journal
» Transcript
» Credits

Hear the Music

» SOF Playlist ¦ hear full-length tracks of each song played in the program

Like-Minded Conversations

» Restoring the Senses: Life, Gardening, and an Orthodox Easter: Theologian Vigen Guroian experiences Easter as "a call to our senses," that is richly informed by his Eastern Orthodox faith and Armenian ancestry.

» Presence in the Wild: Kate Braestrup, a game warden chaplain and UU minister, describes how her sense of God emerges from what happens between and among people.

» The Inner Landscape of Beauty: Irish poet John O'Donohue insisted on beauty as a human calling and a defining aspect of God.

» Whale Songs and Elephant Loves: Acoustic biologist Katy Payne discusses what she has learned about life in this world from two of its largest and most mysterious creatures.

SoundSeen: Narrated Slideshow

» The Myth of Order

View the paintings and photos of James Prosek while he talks about his love of "mystical creatures."

SOF Observed

» The Fastest Pitch-to-Interview Ever
A book about fly-fishing rescued from our "dead books" pile five years ago resurfaces as a show.

» The Music Angle
Video: Our Senior Producer talks about some of the choices he made with this program's music.

» Fishing as Metaphor
Rob discusses fishing as a metaphor for the creative process.

Unheard Cuts

» Unedited Interview with Prosek
(mp3, 1:34:10)

We exercised our editorial muscles in crafting this program. Along the way, we had to make some editorial decisions that left tape on the cutting room floor. Listen to it all, and tell us what you think of our edits.

SOF First Person

» Your Voices, Your Stories
Tell us and other audience members what this program meant to you.
» Share your story

Voice on the Radio

James Prosek

Prosek is an artist and author who has written several books on fly-fishing, including Fly-Fishing on the 41st Parallel.

About the Image

Austrian schwarzfischer and amateur scientist Johannes Schoffman fishes a mountain stream. (photo: James Prosek)