Chris Dombrowski – Words, Water & the West

Chris Dombrowski is an author, poet, and fishing guide who lives and works in Missoula, Montana. As a writer, Chris is probably best known for his book Body of Water: A Sage, a Seeker, and the World’s Most Elusive Fish, which is one of the best books I’ve read in years. He has also published several collections of poetry, and his newest volume titled Ragged Anthem will be released this week. When you merge Chris’s decades of experience in the outdoors with his phenomenal skills as a wordsmith and creative, the end product is some of the most engaging writing that any outdoor lover could ever hope to read.

Chris grew up in Michigan and was always drawn to fishing, hunting, and outdoor adventure. During high school, his favorite English teacher gave him a copy of A River Runs Through It—he devoured the book in a day and from that point forward he knew he wanted to be a professional writer living in the American West. Over the following years, he began fish guiding in Montana, attended graduate school in Missoula, and built a solid career as a working writer and poet.  Along the way, he formed friendships with such notable western writers as Jim Harrison and David James Duncan, and he established his nonprofit writing workshop, the Beargrass Writing Retreat.

If you are interested in creativity, writing, or the writing process, then you will absolutely love this episode with Chris. We discuss that fateful day when he read A River Runs Through It and exactly how that moment changed his life. We discuss his work as a teacher and a guide, and how those skills inform his writing. We talk about his writing process and his writing studio, the importance of creating art with a disciplined, workman-like approach, and how he deals with any self-doubt that may come with publishing his work. We chat in depth about poetry, and Chris offers some great advice for poetry novices like me who want to better understand the art form.  We talk about specific writers Chris particularly admires, including John McFee, James Galvin, Thomas McGuane, David James Duncan, Jim Harrison, and more. He offers a ton of great book recommendations, discusses his favorite rivers in Montana, and shares some excellent words of wisdom to people who love the West.

Thanks again to Chris for this fun conversation—I hope you enjoy it!

Photos courtesy of Chris Dombrowski

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Episode Notes

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Topics Discussed:

• 3:00 – How Chris describes his work
• 6:30 – Story behind “Body of Water”
• 13:00 – How writing poetry helps his nonfiction work
• 17:00 – Structuring nonfiction like McPhee
• 19:00 – Experience teaching
• 21:00 – Reading seriously
• 23:15 – Teaching as a complement to writing
• 25:30 – Early experiences in Montana
• 27:00 – First big trip to the Rockies
• 27:30 – First time reading “A River Runs Through It”
• 29:00 – Importance of fishing
• 31:00 – Importance of passion in work
• 34:30 – Chris’s writing process
• 38:00 – Importance of having a writing studio
• 44:00 – Struggle of staying on task
• 48:30 – Dealing with self doubt
• 54:30 – How to read poetry
• 1:00:30 – Lessons learned from Jim Harrison
• 1:05:00 – Background on “Ragged Anthem”
• 1:08:30 – In depth conversation on podcasts
• 1:12:00 – Favorite books about the West
• 1:19:00 – Favorite rivers in the West
• 1:21:00 – Words of wisdom
• 1:25:15 – Connect with Chris

Information Referenced:

• Chris Dombrowski
• Chris on Instagram
• Body of Water by Chris Dombrowski
• Ragged Anthem by Chris Dombrowski
• Earth Again by Chris Dombrowski
• Beargrass Writers Retreat
• Chris on Meateater Podcast
• The Meadow by David Galvin
• David James Duncan
• Orion Magazine
• James Salter
• Draft No. 4 by John McPhee
• Wall Street Journal Body of Water Review
• Juanita Vero podcast
• A River Runs Through It by Norman Maclean
• Hampton Sides podcast
• David Gessner podcast
• War of Art by Steven Pressfield
• Gary Snyder
• Jim Harrison
• Tom McGuane
• Christian Wiman
• The Solace of Open Spaces by Gretel Ehrlich
• Indian Horse by Richard Wagamese
• Gallatin Canyon by Thomas McGuane
• Down from the Mountain by Bryce Andrews

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