Audiobook · read by volunteers
Fishing with a Worm
Bliss Perry (1860–1954)
Read by Betsie Bush · 1 chapter · 28 min
About the book
A fly fisherman is tempted, just once, to try a worm. That small lapse is the starting point of Bliss Perry's gentle, funny and thoughtful essay, in which a lover of the fly confesses what he feels when he sits at the water's edge with bait on his hook. Part memory, part philosophy, the piece wanders from the pleasures of the stream to the odd satisfactions of doing things the humble way. Perry was a professor of literature who spent time in Vermont writing and fly fishing, and his essay is full of patience, humour and quiet thought. Betsie Bush reads the single chapter in about half an hour, a perfect short companion for a quiet evening, for anyone who has ever stood beside a river and waited.
Introduction
Bliss Perry (1860-1954) was an American scholar, editor and writer. He was a professor of literature at Princeton and later at Harvard, and he spent time in Vermont, where he wrote and went fly fishing. Fishing with a Worm appeared in 1904 and belongs to the American tradition of the contemplative outdoor essay.
The piece is short and builds its charm from a small irony. A devoted fly fisherman, who regards the worm as a lesser method, finds himself lured by it, and the essay reflects on this change with honesty and humour. The writing is poignant and philosophical, in the way that good essays about fishing often are: the sport becomes a way of talking about patience, memory and the difference between what we think we ought to enjoy and what we actually do.
The recording is a single chapter that lasts about half an hour. It is read by Betsie Bush, a LibriVox volunteer.
Why listen now? Perry's essay is a small gem for anyone who enjoys nature writing and a gently self-mocking voice. It makes a restful short listen, free of urgency, and it will appeal to readers who like the older, slower style of essay writing from the turn of the twentieth century. The essay is also a pleasant introduction to a kind of writing that has become rare: unhurried, personal and quietly learned. Perry's years as a teacher of literature show in the ease of his phrasing, and his refusal to take either himself or fishing too seriously keeps the piece warm. It is the sort of text that improves when it is heard at the pace of a slow river, ideally with nothing else to do.
Public domain
Bliss Perry died in 1954: the work is in the public domain in Switzerland, more than 70 years after the author’s death.
The LibriVox volunteers dedicated this recording to the public domain.
Sources : LibriVox page · Files at the Internet Archive · Original text