David Seybold, editor of the anthologies
Seasons of the Angler
and
Boats
, once again brings together some of the best writers of our time in this collection of essays, poems, and stories that examine the mysterious yet eternal relationship between father and son. At turns nostalgic, cathartic, revealing, and wryly humorous, these pieces–coming from vastly different voices–become a poignant and deeply honest tribute to men in all their mortality, both as father and child.
Geologist and author Rick Bass writes about the habits of the Basses, men who live by the simple yet noble assertion “We were raised outdoors, and it’s been a blessing of our life.” Bass shows how his patriarchy has passed on the legacy of love of land, pride in honor, vision that’s broad and generous. In “Why I’m Not a Banker,” Robert F. Jones recalls that summer when he shed his adolescent belief that his father was perfect and godlike; watching him serve as a yes-man to his amoral banking boss, young Jones tastes the first bitter flavor of adulthood. And William Hjortsberg, in “Last Rites,” manages to express a sense of loss, absurdity, and hilarious incomprehension in his eleven-year-old hero, who must come to terms with the cremated remains of his father. Add to these the voices of twenty other talents, including Donald Hall, Joseph McElroy, and Charles Gaines, and
Fathers and Sons
becomes a collection that transcends categorization, as do all ties between fathers and sons.