Pitch
Ryan Brod, A writing professor at the University of New England, recently published a collection of personal essays titled “Tributaries: Essays from Woods and Waters”. His narrative depicts life outdoors and dissects the relationships between people and nature, relating his stories to his love and passion for fishing. With a background in mental health work and a masters in Writing, what should the UNE community know about his recent publication? I plan to dig deeper on the process of writing and publishing a book, and what led Brod to produce his own works. I am curious about what it is like to be an author at a small college campus, and how the book has been perceived since its release. My profile feature hopes to recognize the work of a local professor and author, and share its success to others in the community.
Questions
- Why writing? Why creative nonfiction? Did you dream of becoming an author?
- Your piece, “November Light” appears in an edition of River Teeth, a piece about you and your relationship to your father and hunting – What makes Tributaries different
- When & why did you begin writing tributaries? What is its significance to readers?
- Is there a significance to the order you decided to put the essays in Tributaries in? Chronological?
- Can you discuss the publishing process of Tributaries? How much did you have to alter to get to the final product and what did that process look like?
- What obstacles did you face during this process?
- You often touch on the subject of writing not being seen as an art form – in your own writing in Tributaries, what sort of elements of art do you use?
- Do you plan on furthering your presence as an author in the future? Future developments
Interviews
- Ryan Brod
- A reader of the book
- (Potentially) the Publisher – Islandport Press
200 Word Draft
One might find themselves rowing their boat along the shorelines of the Belgrade Lakes Region in Maine, enjoying the serenity and stillness of the murky waters. You encounter other fishermen, maybe even a tall man in a beanie, teaching a small group the techniques used in fly fishing. Upon your approach, you can tell this person is well-versed in the sport of angling. You fail to notice that this guide has recently published a book. You instead wonder how many fish he has caught today.
At first glance, one could never assume this stranger in a driftboat could be a published author. But perhaps nobody looks like that. However, Ryan Brod, a writing professor at the University of New England, has done precisely that.
Many are unaware of the art of creative nonfiction; how can nonfiction be creative? Brod takes readers into a personal narrative, detailing a life experienced outdoors. In a collection of outdoor essays, “Tributaries: Essays from Woods and Waters,” Brod explores human connections with one another and the natural world. What defines the separation of passion and obsession? “Tributaries” begins to dissect this question.
A graduate of the Stonecoast MFA program at USM, Brod has publications in River Teeth: A Journal of Nonfiction Narrative, Tahoma Literary Review, The Maine Review, The Learned Pig, and Gray’s Sporting Journal, among others. He has also directed a documentary titled “Hardwater,” which focuses on the ice fishing culture in Maine. With deep-rooted connections to wildlife, having grown up in Central Maine, Brod allures readers to his particular experience in life and relationships.
400 Word Draft (though 700)
(Working on Title) Below the Surface; Ryan Brod’s Tributaries: Essays from Woods and Waters
SUBHEAD – By Sarah Bourdeau
One might find themselves rowing their boat along the shorelines of the Aroostook Rivers Region in Maine, finding comfort in the swaying currents and serenity of the murky waters below. You encounter other fishermen, maybe even a tall man in a beanie, teaching a small group the techniques used in fly fishing. Upon your approach, you can tell this person is well-versed in the sport of angling. You fail to notice that this guide has recently published a book. You instead wonder how many fish he has caught today.
At first glance, one could never assume this stranger in a driftboat could be a published author. But perhaps nobody looks like that. However, Ryan Brod, an Adjunct Writing Professor at the University of New England, has done precisely that.
Many are unaware of the art of creative nonfiction; how can nonfiction be creative? Brod takes readers into a personal narrative, detailing a life experienced outdoors. In a collection of outdoor essays, “Tributaries: Essays from Woods and Waters,” Brod explores human connections with one another and the natural world. What defines the separation of passion and obsession? “Tributaries” begins to dissect this question.
A graduate of the Stonecoast MFA program at USM, Brod has publications in River Teeth: A Journal of Nonfiction Narrative, Tahoma Literary Review, The Maine Review, The Learned Pig, and Gray’s Sporting Journal, among others. He has also directed a documentary, “Hardwater,” focusing on the ice fishing culture in Maine. With deep-rooted connections to wildlife, having grown up in Central Maine, Brod allures readers to his particular experience in his life and relationships.
Brod began his writing career in a small college in Baltimore, studying Journalism and playing basketball, dreaming of becoming a sports journalist. However, he diverged from this route to return home, transferring to Orono and switching to Social Work, a field his family is well-versed in.
Employed in social work was comfortable for Brod, a familiarity, yet something was still amiss. The job was high-stress and low pay, and he became unsatisfied without a creative outlet. After a decade in this field, he sought a career he could be excited about, landing him at the Stonecoast MFA Program and returning to his passion for writing.
From experiences offered by Maine’s reservoirs, to the far off Florida Keys, Brod develops his personal narrative by incorporating meaningful memories and imperative sensory detail. [QUOTE FROM READER]
^ADD A QUOTE AND OTHER BOOK INFO^
“I never set out to write a book; it was a process of compiling work,” Brod expressed.
His time at the Stonecoast Program became the inspiration for building a collection. An anthology of despondent essays and profiles, some are published in magazines and literary journals, later evolving into “Tributaries”. To have something to begin molding, Brod took everything from finishing his MFA and emptied it into a Word Document, ready to rework.
Brod describes his artistic process, “The creativity part is not just writing a flowery description because it sounds nice, it’s a description that allows the reader to see what you’re looking at,”
A majority of Brod’s time was spent locating connective threads, building memories for readers to view alongside him, and intentionally identifying and developing the main characters, two being his best friends and the other being his father.
The focal relationship comes with Brod and his father, an exploration into the relationship between father and son, a closeness since childhood, a contrast to how media generally displays this type of relationship.
“Tension in the book is recognizing that you have limited time with someone,” Brod confides, “How am I going to be fully present knowing this person isn’t going to be here very long?”
Watching someone you hold dearly suffer unknown medical troubles is challenging to navigate, knowing your time together can be suspended at any moment. Brod’s dad endured six heart attacks and open heart surgery without any medical explanation. The fear of sudden loss weighs heavily on Brod throughout life. How does one avoid this anxiety to stay present and enjoy time together rather than live in growing sorrow and anticipation of loss?
800 Word Draft
Below the Surface; Ryan Brod’s Tributaries: Essays from Woods and Waters
The art of creative nonfiction writing ← EDIT SUBHEAD
By Sarah Bourdeau
One might find themselves rowing their boat along the shorelines of the Aroostook Rivers Region in Maine, finding comfort in the swaying currents and serenity of the murky waters below. They encounter other fishermen, maybe even a tall man in a beanie, teaching a small group the techniques used in fly fishing. Upon their approach, they can tell this person is well-versed in the sport of angling. They fail to notice that this guide has recently published a book. They instead wonder how many fish he has caught today.
At first glance, one could never assume this stranger in a driftboat could be a published author. Perhaps nobody looks like that. However, Ryan Brod, an Adjunct Writing Professor at the University of New England, has done precisely that.
Brod draws readers into a personal narrative, detailing his life experienced outdoors. In a collection of outdoor essays, Tributaries: Essays from Woods and Waters, Brod explores human connections and the natural world. What defines the separation between passion, obsession, and presence? Published by IslandPort Press in October of 2023, Tributaries begins to dissect this question.
A graduate of the Stonecoast MFA program at USM, Brod has publications in River Teeth: A Journal of Nonfiction Narrative, Tahoma Literary Review, The Maine Review, The Learned Pig, and Gray’s Sporting Journal, among others. He also directed a documentary, Hardwater (2012), highlighting the ice fishing culture in Maine. Growing up in Central Maine left Brod with deep-rooted connections to wildlife and the environment; he allures readers to his particular experience in life and relationships.
Brod’s writing career began at a small college in Baltimore, studying Journalism and playing basketball, aspiring to become a sports journalist. However, he diverged from this route to return home, transferring to Orono and switching to Social Work, a field his family is well-versed in.
Before his time at UNE, he was employed in social work, a comfortable field, a familiarity, yet something was still amiss. The job was high-stress and low-paying, and he was unsatisfied without a creative outlet. After a decade in this occupation, he sought a career he could be excited about, landing him at the Stonecoast MFA Program and returning to his passion for writing.
Many are uninformed about the art of writing, particularly in nonfiction; how can nonfiction be creative? From experiences offered by Maine’s reservoirs to the far-off Florida Keys, Brod develops his personal narrative by incorporating meaningful revisited memories and imperative sensory detail.
“The creativity part is not just writing a flowery description because it sounds nice, it’s a description that allows the reader to see what you’re looking at,” described Brod.
His time at the Stonecoast Program became the inspiration for building a collection. An anthology of despondent essays and profiles, some are published in magazines and literary journals, later evolving into Tributaries. To get started, Brod needed material to start with, so he took everything from his MFA and emptied it into a Word Document, ready to rework.
“I never set out to write a book; it was a process of compiling work,” Brod expressed.
A majority of Brod’s time was spent locating connective threads, restoring memories for readers to view alongside him, and intentionally identifying and developing the main characters, two being his best friends and the other being his father. The focal connection is with his father, an exploration into the relationship between father and son, a closeness since childhood.
“Tension in the book is recognizing that you have limited time with someone,” Brod admitted, “How am I going to be fully present knowing this person isn’t going to be here very long?”
Brod’s father endured six heart attacks and open heart surgery without any medical explanation. He relays his troubles of watching someone you hold dearly suffer unexplained medical challenges and navigating that throughout childhood and further in life to readers. Knowing your time together can be suspended at any moment, the fear of sudden loss weighs heavily on Brod. How does one avoid this anxiety rather than living with growing sorrow and anticipation of loss? Tributaries collects the experiences of a local professor traversing complicated relationships.
Readers follow Brod through the wild landscapes of Maine and the human mind of emotions.
“I hope people enjoy the writing, but I hope more than that, it makes them consider their own social landscape. How am I moving through the world, who am I choosing to spend my time with, how can I optimize the things I’m passionate about?” Brod said.
As a local author, the publishing process is much more involved for Brod. He effectively had to become his own salesman. By going to IslandPort Press, a smaller company than those that distribute nationwide, not much money is allocated to advertisements for a book that nearly reads like a memoir for someone who is not well-known.
“It took a long time for me to recognize myself as a legitimate writer,” Brod reflected on his challenges with the publishing process.
Still, Brod thanks his editors at IslandPort Press for recognizing his potential and authorizing the choice to review and accept or deny their suggestions, as some companies do not offer this choice to authors.
Editorial Team Responses
With everyones workshop, we ultimately went through each portion of everyone’s profiles and gave feedback on things that were noteworthy. For all of them, we talked about title and the subheadline, and in what ways we can improve them to make them fit the angle in the best way possible. In Sarah Be’s profile, we discussed attributions, and in what ways she can portray professor Quinlan with her intended angle. For Zak, we encouraged him to slow down at the beginning, and utilize some anecdotal qualities throughout to allow the piece to breathe and flow more smoothly. With Elia’s piece, we wanted to help her find ways to ramp up the description in the title, as well as potentially incorporate another image of Ahmida later on. We also discussed ways the piece could be a little bit more digestible for readers, though we recognize that it is a challenging topic to begin with. I gained a lot of helpful feedback from the group, particularly about adding a quote from Brod earlier on, to let him explain some stuff. They also recommended I alter the ending, which I completely agreed with. Almost all of our pieces allowed our focus subject have the last word, and I think in each, it works very well. Overall, the workshop was constructive, and each of us were praised on our strengths and provided feedback on sections that could be improved.
Workshop Experience
The workshop today was informative, it helped with the formatting of my profile from an outsider’s perspective. I was also reassured about my anecdotal lede, which I was previously a bit unsure about, though now understand that it works with this profile. I definitely have to add more to the quotes from other people and Brod himself, which I will have to review my recording from the interview for. I have all the information that I need, it just needs to be incorporated and then refined. I also was advised to allow the ending to conclude with the creative side of Brod’s writing, having him get the last word would also help with this. Overall, the feedback was useful and I look forward to finishing and rounding out this profile.
Final Draft
Profile Story Reflection
I enjoyed writing this profile more than the featured creature, and found it more engaging as a whole. Examining Brod and his book was a great opportunity, and I have learned a lot about him and the book. I felt more confident conducting interviews for this project, as I have grown more comfortable with the entire process. It was easier to let the subject do the talking, and ultimately some great quotes came out of it. Using a device to record was likely the best thing I did for this project, as I was able to refer to it to have accurate information, as well as return to it when I was completing my final edits. I still have a lot of information that could be added, but the word count simply does not allow for it, and ultimately I feel good about what I chose to include, and what to cut. Workshopping was also a good experience, where I was able to obtain ideas from other’s works and see how mine compares. Providing feedback was helpful for others and myself, as there were some sections I could edit afterwards. Being part of a small group allowed for constructive conversations about our profiles, and I enjoyed doing so. I typically struggle with creating a good engaging title, but thankfully the workshop helped me refine this aspect of the profile. Editing my piece was mostly about cutting down on words to fit the word count range. I needed to keep the quotes, and figure out where I was being repetitive. I found this a bit difficult to do, since I liked my draft I had, though with feedback from the workshop, I let Brod do some of the explanation of his time before UNE. I felt this profile allowed for a better narrative, and flow of story with a very direct focus on one individual.
