Podcasts: George Black on Casting A Spell

Pull up a chair and take a listen to George Black talking about his recently released book about the history of bamboo rod making in the U.S. An interview conducted by Daniel Hinerfield for OnEarth magazine examines what the author brings to the study of the craft from long journalistic experience. Making a bamboo fly rod is like making a cross between a shotgun and a violin, says Black, and “the extraordinary character of the people who make these things” is mostly what Casting a Spell is about. Ultimately Black was inspired by the ownership of one of Eustis Edwards’s Perfection rods, by a man who represented integrity, both attractive and melancholic, in resisting the corporate influences that might dilute his talent with mass marketing.