Author, angler James Prosek to talk in Brewer

BREWER – The Maine Chapter of the Izaak Walton League of America will sponsor an evening program with author, artist and angler James Prosek from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Monday, April 5, at the Penobscot County Conservation Association clubhouse. The public is invited to attend. There is no charge for the event.

Prosek has been a successful author and artist since publishing his first book, “Trout: An Illustrated History,” when he was only twenty. The first of its kind, the book featured 70 of Prosek’s paintings of the trout of North America, and was published during his junior year at Yale University. “Trout” sold more than 80,000 copies. In addition, his first gallery show of original paintings from “Trout” was a sell-out.

In 1994, The New York Times called Prosek the “Audubon of the Fishing World.” His life and work have been chronicled in People, Sports Illustrated, Sports Afield, Life Magazine, The New York Times, Boston Globe, Los Angeles Times, Men’s Journal and Country Living. He has appeared on the NBC Nightly News with Tom Brokaw, CBS “Sunday Morning,” on CNN, and NPR’s “All Things Considered.”

As a senior at Yale, Prosek published his second book, “Joe and Me: An Education in Fishing and Friendship,” which won him acclaim as a serious author. Since its May 1997 launch, “Joe and Me” has sold 40,000 copies and has been translated and released in Japan. The success of his first two books led to high demand for Prosek’s original artwork, which continues to be sought after by collectors around the world.

His third book, “The Complete Angler” depicts Prosek’s adventures following in the footsteps of the league’s namesake, Izaak Walton, the famous 17th century angler and author from London who wrote the original “The Compleat Angler.” In 2002 Prosek wrote and co-produced a one-hour film for ESPN about these excursions, which won an Emmy and a prestigious Peabody Award.

In 2003, “Fly-fishing the 41st” was published. It chronicles Prosek traveling the world on the latitude line 41?N of his home in Connecticut. And “Trout of the World,” Prosek’s latest publication at age 28, finds him traveling to Iceland and England, Turkey and Iran, Russia and Australia and everywhere in between, searching for trout species in their native environments. The watercolor illustrations in the book are accompanied by stories, such as the time he fished the headwaters of the Tigris River under the watch of Turkish military police who were fighting Kurdish separatists.

Prosek is currently in New Zealand researching a future project on eels.

Founded in 1922 as a national organization of hunters, anglers and other conservation-minded outdoor enthusiasts, the Izaak Walton League supports volunteer, community-based action and education programs to ensure the sustainable use of America’s natural resources. Its programs focus on natural resource advocacy through state and federal legislation, outdoor ethics, community sustainability, energy efficiency and sustainable agricultural practices. Priorities for the Maine Chapter are improving outdoor ethics in the state, surveying streams to assess fish habitat as well as potential pollutants, and addressing wildlife conservation concerns.

For directions to the Penobscot County Conservation Association clubhouse or for information about the league’s Maine Chapter, call Debi Davidson, president, 897-6295, or e-mail iwlamaine@iwlamaine.org, or.