Jerusalem Creek : Journeys into Driftless Country

by Ted Leeson

• ISBN13: 9781585745548
• ISBN10: 1585745545
• Format: Trade Book
• Copyright: 2002-06-01
• Publisher: The Lyons Press

Summary

Jerusalem Creek is an exploration into the unique landscape and of the "driftless area" of Wisconsin. Left untouched by a succession of glaciers that continually reshaped the surrounding territory, the driftless area slowly weathered into a region of hundreds of narrow valleys carved by hundreds of small spring creeks that, taken together, make up ten thousand square miles of trout country. But for all its size, the driftless country "is a geography of small concealments"-of coves and hollows, oak groves and shady bends, winding brooks and trout: "It is not a landscape that you hike up, or climb down into, or stand out looking upon; it is one that you slip inside of," and this book presents the view from within. From the rumor of an old fishing log that first sends him into driftless country in search of trout, to a recognition of the loss and compromise that lie at the heart of many landscapes and many lives, Leeson reflects on waters and people-and the nature of his spring creek country. At times thoughtful and hilarious, passionate and wry, he journeys into the special charms of small-scale waters and pastoral spaces; the nature of meandering in trout streams and trout fishermen; ruminations on dairy cows, honeybees, and the Midwestern character, family and angling companions, Amish farmsteads, the memory of a missing photograph, the equivocal dream of owning a trout stream, the ways in which the past endures in the present. Jerusalem Creek tells the story of how we create the places we love-and how they in turn create us. This is a wise, poignant, and haunting book.

Author Biography

Ted Leeson is the author of the widely acclaimed The Habit of Rivers (page 136). His essays and articles have appeared in Fly Fisherman, Field & Stream, The Utne Reader, Gray's Sporting Journal, Men's Journal, and regularly in Fly Rod & Reel. He teaches English at Oregon State University in Corvallis.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	p. ix
Introduction: Small Thrills	p. 1
Springs Eternal	p. 15
Driftless	p. 35
Meandering	p. 51
Objects in Mirror Are Closer Than They Appear	p. 77
The Land of Milk and Honey	p. 102
Brothers in Arms	p. 128
Certain Specific Days	p. 148
The Heart of the Heartland	p. 156
Some Assembly Required	p. 166
Beating the Bounds	p. 178
Green Thoughts in a Green Shade	p. 193
Simple Gifts	p. 209
The Same River Twice	p. 222
Afterword: A Workable Deception	p. 235
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