What a rare pleasure to go fly fishing with Jeff Knorr and see his passion for nature in action. On the American River, Sacramento
See the Flipping Book of Honoree Portraits.
Jeff Knorr is the current Poet Laureate for the city and county of Sacramento. He is the author of three collections of poetry, The Third Body, Standing Up to the Day, and Keeper (a collection of poems & essays). His other works include the co-authored Mooring Against the Tide: Writing Poetry and Fiction (Prentice Hall); the anthology, A Writer’s Country (Prentice Hall); and the newly released, The River Sings: An Introduction to Poetry (Prentice Hall). His poetry and essays have appeared in numerous literary journals and anthologies including Barrow Street, Chelsea, Connecticut Review, Red Rock Review, The Journal, and Like Thunder: Poets Respond to Violence in America (University of Iowa, 2002). He was the 2008 winner of the Ray Bradbury Award in Poetry and in 2009 finished 3rd in the James Hurst Prize from The North American Review.
Jeff has edited, presented, and been an invited judge for various awards. He was the founding co-editor and poetry editor of the Clackamas Literary Review, which won Best New Magazine in America in 1997 and in 1998. He has also been an invited reader at such venues as University of Pennsylvania’s Kelly Writer’s House, The Des Moines Festival of Literary Arts and a judge for contests such as the Willamette Award in Poetry, the Red Rock Poetry Award, and C & R Press’ DeNovo First Book Contest. He has been the Chair of the English department at Sacramento City College and has also served on the Sacramento County Office of Education Arts Executive Advisory Board.
Jeff Knorr currently lives in California’s central valley and is Professor of English at Sacramento City College. Bio from http://wserver.scc.losrios.edu
A few questions we asked Jeff…
What are the 3 important things you would include in your things-still-to-do list?
Fish on every continent of the world, Visit China (for tourism as well as fishing, I suppose), live in Canada–my grandfather is from BC and so I still have so much family there. I have been close with most of my Canadian relatives all of my life and I have a longing to live there and be closer in proximity to that part of my extended family.
What is the one thing that you love the most about yourself?
I love that my parents taught me to be open to people and experiences. because of this I have met some very wonderful people all around the world and have had opportunities come to me because I’ve said “yes” to doing things and allowing people to offer me something beautiful. It’s a real blessing that they showed me how to do this.
What moves you and or touches you about your community?
I am touched by Sacramento’s sense of belonging. As much as people say things like “sac is known for being between Tahoe and SF” I have come to know Sacramentans being very bonded to their city. I’ve lived in London, Barcelona, Portland, and San Francisco, but I’ve never met as many locals in any of them as I have in Sacramento. That says something to me about how people love and care for their community and how at home people feel in the place they’ve grown up. So many times people try to flee where they’ve grown up, but it doesn’t seem the case here.
What are you most proud of?
I am most proud of my family–both my immediate family and my brother and sister and parents. First, I grew up with great people–I love my brother and sister and parents and despite having normal family stuff, I’m proud of the family we are and the people they are. And I am proud of my kids and my two nieces and nephew–they all have immense talents in various areas, but mostly I am proud of the amazing young people they are and how they approach the world and people in it.
What gets you up in the morning?
My alarm! No, really, I get up because each day will offer something beautiful. I know this at a core level. No matter how bad a day I’ve had the day before, and believe me I’ve had some dark days, the next day will being something new and that’s worth getting up for.
If you have a completely free day what would you CHOOSE to do with it?
Completely free…my life is so busy right now with four teenagers and teaching and writing and such I don’t even know what that means…completely free…wow, well, if it was truly, absolutely completely free I suppose I’d go find the best river I could and fish it. That is if was to be truly just for me. If it was to be shared, well, I’d go somewhere with my wife just the two of us…steal away for some sweet time together.
What are you most passionate about?
Well, I’m passionate about a lot. This is a hard one. I guess in the end, I’m passionate about the outdoors, about animals, about mountains and rivers, deserts. The natural world for me carries a spiritual space which is something that touches me deeply and makes me clear and connected to both myself and something beyond myself. I think that is why I am so drawn to it. I also find the natural world simply aesthetically pleasing. Some people want to get this by going to the ballet. Send me to the woods. The woods are as beautiful as anything I’ve ever seen or experienced in my life. So, if someone said to me tomorrow, I’ll take you out to _______, well, I’d go. It doesn’t matter if it was McMurdow Station in the arctic or a national park. I’d go.
Do you have a childhood memory when you knew the essence of who you’d grow up to be?
Well, not really I don’t think. I have memories of being in the outdoors with my grandfather and also being in the wilderness with my family camping. We went to Yosemite every summer and that was going to be my dream job. At 12 I was going to be a ranger in Yosemite. I’d still take that job. It’s not who I would up being per se, but my essence is certainly fueled by nature.
Are you surprised because your career is a happy accident or are you delighted because it’s what you always wanted?
Well, I can’t say it’s entirely a happy accident. When I was an English major and I was reading Hemingway and other 20th century writers I thought, I want to be a writer. I wanted to be a writer way more than a critic. I remember once in class thinking to myself, I’m going to be a writer. At the time it felt like so far off, like, how the hell is that going to happen. I really didn’t know if it would. And, well, here I am a writer that is both active in my local community and active as a national writer in our literary culture of America. That’s a bit surprising that here I am a known American author when 25 years ago I wondered if it could happen. You know, there’s no road map to becoming a writer. Maybe there isn’t to a lot of things, but certainly there isn’t a road map to becoming a writer. people tell you, “just write.” Well, that’s fine, but beyond that there is so much more and I have had good people around me to help direct me in the right ways. So, to answer the question it’s a little bit of both.
