Local Authors: Craig Nova – Brook Trout and the Writing Life
Cary, NC – Craig Nova of Hillsborough is the author of twelve novels and a recent autobiography: Brook Trout and the Writing Life. He will soon be promoting his book in local book stores.
International (and local) Literary Acclaim
Craig Nova’s writing has appeared in Esquire, Paris Review, New York Times Magazine, and Men’s Journal, among other publications. He has received an Award in Literature from the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters and is a recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship. In 2005 he was named Class of 1949 Distinguished Professor in the Humanities at the University of North Carolina, Greensboro. Other titles from Nova: Turkey Hash, The Geek, Incandescence, The Good Son, The Congressman’s Daughter, Tornado Alley, Trombone, The Book of Dreams, The Universal Donor, Wetware, Cruisers and The Informer.
Brook Trout and the Writing Life
“Of course, this book was never really about fishing. I meant it to be about people I cared about and about the passage of time. And surely, where time is concerned, I know more about that now and how it flows, or grinds, on everything, or just about everything and everyone. So what have I learned in these twelve years? Or what is the essence of this thing, time, that we notice only by its affects?” – Craig Nova, Preface of Brook Trout and the Writing Life.
The book is a very personal, honest, introspective and often poetic look at life. His life, but one to which many of us will be able to relate. The author has an uncanny way of remembering detail – his feelings and the “scenery” – associated with his coming of age as a rookie writer, a newlywed, a father and other important pieces of his life. Personal fishing stories are used metaphorically for life’s lessons. And fishing is what the author resorts to during times of writer’s block and difficult problems.
“During important times of my life, I have often gone fishing for brook trout. What I got out of this was not just the absence of what was confining or upsetting, but the presence of another quality altogether: These fish are forever associated in my mind with the depths of thankfulness for good fortune, just as they always reminded me of beauty and a sense of what may be possible after all.”
Nova’s next appearance to discuss his book will be at Quail Ridge Books & Music in Raleigh on Tuesday, May 10 at 7:30 pm. He will be in Cary’s Barnes & Noble on SE Maynard on Tuesday, June 7 at 7 pm. Or go to Craig Nova’s web site.