Reading: Tom Alkire: Western Waters

Annie Bloom’s welcomes Portland author Tom Alkire to read from Western Waters: Fly-Fishing Memories and Lessons from Twelve Rivers.

In this collection of essays about well-known (and some not-so-well-known) Western waters, Alkire blends how-to, where-to, and natural history with lyrical prose and a deep insight that only comes with knowing a place well. From rainforest rivers to desert rivers, from tidal rivers to those along the Continental Divide, the author has waded and fished these waters over the decades. Along with his fishing adventures, the book also looks at the geography, the early explorers of, and the modern-day impacts on the rivers themselves.

Tom Alkire has written about fishing, rivers, and the natural world for more than 30 years. In addition to a prolific freelance writing career, he spent three decades covering business and environment as a Northwest staff correspondent for Bloomberg BNA. His writing has been awarded by the Scripps Howard Foundation and the Newspaper Guild, among others. He is a frequent presenter at local fly fishing clubs and is the author of There’s More to Fishing (Than Catching Fish) and River Stories: Headwaters to the Sea.