Mark Spitzer, associate professor of creative writing at the University of Central Arkansas, will read from his new book, Beautifully Grotesque Fish of the American West, at the Faulkner County Library at 7 p.m. on Thursday, March 16.
The event, which will include a book signing following the reading, is free and open to the public.
The publication of the book, which editors describe as an “action-packed investigation of [America’s] most fierce and fearsome freshwater grotesques,” begins in Arkansas with a quest for American eels and ends with a chemical analysis of fish from Lake Conway that reveals some surprising results.
“After the 2013 Mayflower oil spill, I needed to know if the levels of carcinogenic mutagens were dangerous, so I commissioned a lab in Texas to test a bass and a catfish caught at the major contamination point,” Spitzer said. “We tested for benzene, barium, mercury, lead, and 20-something other toxins.”
Beautifully Grotesque Fish of the American West is Spitzer’s 25th book. In it, Spitzer (who has appeared on Animal Planet’s River Monsters) pursues mammoth sturgeon, elusive muskellunge, slimy burbot, invasive carp, bizarre paddlefish, mutant gar, and other maligned and monstrous species. He takes part in the famous Okie Noodling Tournament, interviews authorities and reflects on the history, folklore, biology and politics of some of this country’s ugliest fish. More importantly, innovative solutions are offered for a planet in environmental distress and its failing fisheries.
Discount copies of the book, just published by the University of Nebraska Press and funded in part by UCA sabbatical and summer stipend research support, will be available for purchase after the reading.
The Faulkner County Library is located at 1900 W. Tyler St. in Conway.
For more information, contact Nancy Williams at 501-327-7482 or nancy@fcl.org.
The UCA College of Fine Arts and Communication includes the Departments of Art, Music, and Film, Theatre and Creative Writing, as well as the School of Communication. The college’s primary mission is the preparation of the next generation of artists, educators and communicators. For more information about CFAC, visit www.uca.edu/cfac or call 501-450-3293.grotesque fish poster
