- Joined
- Mar 11, 2001
- Messages
- 70,011
- Reaction score
- 1,003
Redding student a finalist in Field and Stream writers contest
Thom Gabrukiewicz, Reddding Record Searchlight
February 02, 2003
"As I landed the fish, a rainbow, I looked at the beauty of one of God's creatures that He formed with color and spirit. As the fish swims off and disappears into the small ripples, I slowly stand up. I look down the stream to my Godfather.
"'Fish on' he yells.'"
That's a excerpt from an essay written by Shawn Welch, a 17-year-old junior at Bishop Quinn High School. Look on Field and Stream magazine's online edition, at www.fieldandstream.com, and you'll find that passage prominently displayed. It comes from "My Best Day on the Water, Slate Creek," which was part of Field and Stream's second-annual Young Writers Contest.
"This year, we received more than 300 entries from kids voicing their passions for the outdoors," editor Sid Evans said in a press release. "These essays not only reflect the future of our sport, but mirror the traditions and values parents have passed to their children."
Charles Hogle, a 16-year-old from Schenectady, N.Y., won the contest this year. His essay, "The Knowledge of Fish," appears in the February editions of the magazine, which is now on newsstands.
"The quality of this year's entries made our decision to pick a winner an extremely tough one," Evans said.
And Welch's entry was right up there for top honors until the end, said Stephan Pechdimaldji, a spokesman for Time4 Media, the publisher of Field and Stream.
"Oh, wow, that's so cool," Welch said. "I didn't know."
Welch categorized his entry as poetic fiction. It has a lyrical feel to it, moving from the catastrophic 1991 chemical spill that killed the upper Sacramento River to fishing Slate Creek with his Godfather — Monsignor Russell Terra, pastor of St. Joseph Catholic Church in Redding.
"I went out fly fishing with him when I was six or seven," Welch said. "And I've loved it ever since. He was the one who taught me about the outdoors."
The love for writing grew along with it.
"I've always loved writing, too," he said. "I've been writing since the seventh grade.
"My essay is a poetic story. I like writing poetry."
Welch admits that poetry isn't really in vogue today, but he said there's something fascinating in the cadence of a good stanza. He said it's close to the rhythm of casting a fly line.
And that's why for him, poetry and the outdoors will be forever linked.
"I love writing, I love the outdoors," he said. "Poetry gets my mind moving off things and puts it in a different place. Just like fly fishing."
Welch said he writes every day for school and then writes a couple of days a week just for himself. The essay grew out of one of these private sessions.
"I showed it to my English teacher and he said it was great," Welch said. "He said he liked the way I went into detail. He told me about the contest and told me to give it a shot."
This is the second year for the contest; it's also the second year that the north state has had a finalist. Last year, Lisa Knight of Shasta Lake had a quote publish in the magazine.
"Your area certainly has been well-represented," Pechdimaldji said.
With the encouragement from Field and Stream, you'd think Welch might have a future in writing.
"I'm planning on going to college and get my business management degree and open up my own hotel and casino in Reno," Welch said. "That, or open a nightclub in L.A."
Welch has the entertainment background to succeed. He said he plays disc jockey for all of his classmate's parties and said if his hotel/casino or nightclub plans don't pan out, he plans on hooking up with some friends to pursue a DJ gig.
"But I'm always going to write," he said. "I do it for my girlfriend, give her something to look at and stuff."
Let's close with another excerpt:
Stopping there with the water rushing by my legs, and the birds singing in the trees, I think to myself, "Today is a good day to be alive.' I cast my line back into the water and continue to fish.
Thom Gabrukiewicz's Outside column appears every Sunday in the Record Searchlight. He can be reached at 225-8230 or at tgabrukiewicz@redding.com.
Thom Gabrukiewicz, Reddding Record Searchlight
February 02, 2003
"As I landed the fish, a rainbow, I looked at the beauty of one of God's creatures that He formed with color and spirit. As the fish swims off and disappears into the small ripples, I slowly stand up. I look down the stream to my Godfather.
"'Fish on' he yells.'"
That's a excerpt from an essay written by Shawn Welch, a 17-year-old junior at Bishop Quinn High School. Look on Field and Stream magazine's online edition, at www.fieldandstream.com, and you'll find that passage prominently displayed. It comes from "My Best Day on the Water, Slate Creek," which was part of Field and Stream's second-annual Young Writers Contest.
"This year, we received more than 300 entries from kids voicing their passions for the outdoors," editor Sid Evans said in a press release. "These essays not only reflect the future of our sport, but mirror the traditions and values parents have passed to their children."
Charles Hogle, a 16-year-old from Schenectady, N.Y., won the contest this year. His essay, "The Knowledge of Fish," appears in the February editions of the magazine, which is now on newsstands.
"The quality of this year's entries made our decision to pick a winner an extremely tough one," Evans said.
And Welch's entry was right up there for top honors until the end, said Stephan Pechdimaldji, a spokesman for Time4 Media, the publisher of Field and Stream.
"Oh, wow, that's so cool," Welch said. "I didn't know."
Welch categorized his entry as poetic fiction. It has a lyrical feel to it, moving from the catastrophic 1991 chemical spill that killed the upper Sacramento River to fishing Slate Creek with his Godfather — Monsignor Russell Terra, pastor of St. Joseph Catholic Church in Redding.
"I went out fly fishing with him when I was six or seven," Welch said. "And I've loved it ever since. He was the one who taught me about the outdoors."
The love for writing grew along with it.
"I've always loved writing, too," he said. "I've been writing since the seventh grade.
"My essay is a poetic story. I like writing poetry."
Welch admits that poetry isn't really in vogue today, but he said there's something fascinating in the cadence of a good stanza. He said it's close to the rhythm of casting a fly line.
And that's why for him, poetry and the outdoors will be forever linked.
"I love writing, I love the outdoors," he said. "Poetry gets my mind moving off things and puts it in a different place. Just like fly fishing."
Welch said he writes every day for school and then writes a couple of days a week just for himself. The essay grew out of one of these private sessions.
"I showed it to my English teacher and he said it was great," Welch said. "He said he liked the way I went into detail. He told me about the contest and told me to give it a shot."
This is the second year for the contest; it's also the second year that the north state has had a finalist. Last year, Lisa Knight of Shasta Lake had a quote publish in the magazine.
"Your area certainly has been well-represented," Pechdimaldji said.
With the encouragement from Field and Stream, you'd think Welch might have a future in writing.
"I'm planning on going to college and get my business management degree and open up my own hotel and casino in Reno," Welch said. "That, or open a nightclub in L.A."
Welch has the entertainment background to succeed. He said he plays disc jockey for all of his classmate's parties and said if his hotel/casino or nightclub plans don't pan out, he plans on hooking up with some friends to pursue a DJ gig.
"But I'm always going to write," he said. "I do it for my girlfriend, give her something to look at and stuff."
Let's close with another excerpt:
Stopping there with the water rushing by my legs, and the birds singing in the trees, I think to myself, "Today is a good day to be alive.' I cast my line back into the water and continue to fish.
Thom Gabrukiewicz's Outside column appears every Sunday in the Record Searchlight. He can be reached at 225-8230 or at tgabrukiewicz@redding.com.
