English professor fishes for the American dream.

David Vanderwerken, a professor of 20th century American fiction for the English department, wants to reconnect with the world he goes out…fly fishing.

“I find it the best mind cleanser that there is, Vanderwerken said. “I have to get out of the city every so often and get into the woods.”

Vanderwerken said going fishing allows him to enjoy the natural world and match wits with a wild creature – even if it did come out of a hatchery.

“You can simply match your wits with the pea brain of a trout although the tout usually wins,”
Vanderwerken said as he laughed in his office chair by a landscape photo of New Zealand taken during one of his fishing trips to New Zealand.

While Vanderwerken has had finishing trips in many areas such as New Zealand, The Sierra mountains is northern California and British Colombia, the big trip, he says with a hint of anticipation is coming up.

Alaska.

“A trip of a lifetime,” Vanderwerken calls it.

On May 20, Vanderwerken and his wife will embark on a six day drive from their Fort Worth, Texas to Fairbanks, Alaska where they will visit until mid August.

The “to-do” list includes a trip to Denali National Park, taking in the mountains and scenery, spending a couple of days on the Kenai Peninsula and driving up to the Arctic Circle – just to say they did it.

Unlike his other trips, Vanderwerken said his is going to have to be more selective as to which fish he decides to keep and send back home because of the amount of time they are going to be staying in Alaska.

“I think we’ll be pretty much feasting up there, unless there is a way to ship some back,” Vanderwerken said. “It turns out that way that will be great, if it doesn’t we’ll then that’s the way it is.”

Vanderwerken said his fishing trips allow him to keep a fresh perspective on what it mean to be an American, something he brings to his course The American Dream, a class where he explores what it means to be an American and traces the evolution of the American dream from Benjamin Franklin to the present day.

Vanderwerken said he feels the trip is appropriate, considering the context of his class.

“I think this will be very valuable to go to what’s known as the last frontier,” Vanderwerken said.

Besides letting him recharge between teaching and researching, Vanderwerken said his fishing trips allow him to gain a fresh perspective on what it means to be an American and the evolution of the American dream.

“The whole idea of the TCU bubble or the academic bubble it’s true,” Vanderwerken said. “You do get out of touch with basic America and how it lives.”

“I feel I can stay somewhat connected to that but sharing an interest a lot of people share from very different walks of life,” Vanderwerken said. “It keeps my perspective straight.”

“I can’t wait,” Vanderwerken said about his upcoming trip. “It’s going to be an adventure.”