Nick Lyons turned 93 this June; his granddaughter, Elsa Hjalmarsson Lyons, a junior at Amherst, turns 20 later this August. They enjoy a close relationship and a love for New York, the arts, literature and writing.

A towering figure in the world of flyfishing, Nick is the author of over twenty books and hundreds of essays, some of which have appeared in The New York Times, Harper’s, National Geographic, and Field & Stream. His 2020 memoir, Fire in the Straw: Notes on Inventing a Life, was received with widespread praise. “This gem of a book is destined to become a classic,” wrote Howell Raines, former executive editor of the New York Times.

Elsa studies dance and English at Amherst College and draws tremendous encouragement from her family of writers, publishers and educators. “When my grandfather talks about books and language, he radiates joy,” says Elsa. “I’ve always been moved by the story of how he discovered literature as a means of waking up to the world, of feeling like a part of the world. It’s a thrilling legend of transformation, and I think transformation is what literature means to me, too.”

Elsa has only tried fishing a couple of times, but Nick reports that she hooked the fabled, 15-pound golden carp in his pond in Woodstock, New York. The fish was gently released.

“I have been blessed with a remarkable granddaughter,” Nick writes. “Elsa and I have corresponded by handwritten letters and e-mail—about literature, poetry, and life—since she was eight. For my 90th birthday, she gave me two bound volumes of what we wrote, perhaps 400 pages worth. I treasure her every word.”

Traverse is honored to celebrate this legacy with a new essay and poem by these literary Lyons.