{"id":19351,"date":"2016-09-26T20:44:29","date_gmt":"2016-09-27T00:44:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/greatminds\/?p=19351"},"modified":"2017-03-08T11:40:14","modified_gmt":"2017-03-08T16:40:14","slug":"fish-tales","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/greatminds\/2016\/09\/26\/fish-tales\/","title":{"rendered":"Fish Tales"},"content":{"rendered":"

When Assistant English Professor Jon Pineda decided to plan a fly-fishing lesson for literature students outside Combs Hall, he\u2019d faced the facts. There would be no actual fish \u2013 or for that matter, water \u2013 on the green Jefferson Square lawn. The forecast that late-summer day proved him wrong.<\/p>\n

The rain steadily poured while 15 students, many clad in rain jackets and slickers, lined up in the grass on the Fredericksburg campus. Over the sound of squeaky rain boots and fishing lines whipping through the air, Pineda celebrated each successful cast.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Students
Students practice their fly-fishing skills on Jefferson Square.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cI just imagined my students out on Jefferson Square, that was always the vision,\u201d said Pineda, who invited two fishing experts from Orvis sporting goods store to teach students in his Ecoliterature class how to fly fish. \u00a0\u201cWe can talk all day long about fly fishing, but there\u2019s something about actually holding the rod.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a two-part lesson, the Orvis fishermen, Mark Fackner and Aaron Spicer, instructed the students about fly patterns and the ecology of the river. Then, the novice student fishermen got to experience casting a fishing rod for themselves.<\/p>\n

\"Ecoliterature <\/a>
Ecoliterature students learn the basics of fly fishing. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Kirsten <\/a>
Kirsten Whitley casts her rod. <\/div> <\/div>
\"Jon <\/a>
Jon Pineda offers encouragement. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Alexis <\/a>
Alexis Donahue concentrates on her delivery. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Orvis <\/a>
Orvis expert Mark Fackner instructs students. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n

Fackner and Spicer taught the class two casts: false casting and the pick up and lay down. While some students got the hang of it immediately, many first timers struggled with technique. \u00a0Quick to sense their frustration, Pineda\u2014an avid fisherman himself–jumped in to help.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve fished in so many conditions,\u201d said Pineda. \u201cThis is what it\u2019s all about.\u201d<\/p>\n

This 300-level literature course with a focus on nature and the environment was a dream class for Pineda. He hoped to provide his students with some hands-on experience to help them connect with their writing.<\/p>\n

\u201cWriters use their imagination when constructing narratives, of course, but having firsthand knowledge of the thing they’re describing often gives them a relevant starting point and can also help create additional opportunities for the scope of the piece,\u201d said Pineda, an acclaimed writer and poet, who is a finalist for the 2016 Library of Virginia Literary Award. \u201cWriters can choose specific, essential details that build more authentic imagery, which often lends greater credibility to the voice of the narrative.\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s just what happened while writing his novel Apology<\/em>. At the time, he also worked for a telecommunications company where he had to learn to climb 35-foot telephone poles.<\/p>\n

\u201cI decided my protagonist would go through similar training, and so I wrote those parts into the story,\u201d said Pineda, about the book that won the 2013 Milkweed National Fiction Prize.<\/p>\n

First-timer sophomore Sally Marrazzo could relate as she cast her line high into the air. \u201cI think this experience will benefit my writing in this class,\u201d she said. \u201cEven though we are all novices it\u2019s given us a better understanding.\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s just what Pineda wanted to hear. He\u2019s loves to learn new things and hopes to spark the same curiosity within his writing students.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe reason I teach is because I want students to find their voice and find their way,\u201d said Pineda, recipient of the University\u2019s 2016 outstanding young faculty member award.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m simply helping them find who they\u2019ve always been.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

UMW students cast their lines for literature.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":142,"featured_media":19352,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"umw_cb_additional_links":[[]],"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_advisory_expires_time":"","_advisory_meta_include":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[4,81],"tags":[3,111,105],"class_list":{"0":"post-19351","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-show","8":"category-umw-home","9":"tag-english","10":"tag-jpineda","11":"tag-linguistics-and-communication","12":"entry"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nFish Tales - Great Minds<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/greatminds\/2016\/09\/26\/fish-tales\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Alex Spence\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/greatminds\\\/2016\\\/09\\\/26\\\/fish-tales\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/greatminds\\\/2016\\\/09\\\/26\\\/fish-tales\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Alex Spence\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/greatminds\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/01130445dcb52e990ad16093cdf8f58e\"},\"headline\":\"Fish Tales\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-09-27T00:44:29+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-03-08T16:40:14+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/greatminds\\\/2016\\\/09\\\/26\\\/fish-tales\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":545,\"commentCount\":2,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/greatminds\\\/2016\\\/09\\\/26\\\/fish-tales\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/greatminds\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/20\\\/2016\\\/09\\\/FlyFish_HP.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"English, Linguistics and Communication\",\"jpineda;\",\"Linguistics and Communication\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Show on Great Minds\",\"UMW Home Page\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/greatminds\\\/2016\\\/09\\\/26\\\/fish-tales\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/greatminds\\\/2016\\\/09\\\/26\\\/fish-tales\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/greatminds\\\/2016\\\/09\\\/26\\\/fish-tales\\\/\",\"name\":\"Fish Tales - 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