Deeper Currents

A spirited exploration of the blessings manifest in all wild places

In Deeper Currents, Donald C. Jackson guides us on a journey into the cathedrals of wild and lonely places, those sacred spaces where hunters and fishers connect with the rhythms of the earth; and the spirit that resonates within us. Jackson explores hunting and fishing as frameworks—sacraments—for discovering, engaging, and finding meaning. He invites readers to consider connections with wilder realms of being.

Hunting squirrels on an autumn morning, probing the woods, rifle in hand, Jackson reveals an attention to nature too often neglected. Following a bird dog into the damp and mysterious places where woodcock settle on their southbound migrations, chasing hounds on the trail of raccoons on a frosty winter night, stalking deer in a quiet corner of a small farm, fishing for carp in a creek, bass and bluegill in ponds, catfish in a murky river, and reef fish in the Gulf, Jackson reminds that we are stewards not only of resources, but also a past that defines us as hunters and fishers. We must pass this legacy along to the generations that follow.

In Deeper Currents, tractors and old barns find a place in the reader’s heart. Boats and canoes navigate realms of danger and dream. Jackson shares outdoor pilgrimages with good friends, in cabins, tents, camps, and old trailers tucked beyond the reach of a rushing world. He rejoices in the whisper of stiff wings as ducks come to decoys, the call of geese and cranes over tidal flats, the hush before a storm, the muffled snap of a twig at twilight, a drop of dew falling on the surface of a pond, the clicking of caribou hooves on an Alaskan gravel bar. Jackson finds these natural moments fill us with energy. They remind us that, as hunters and fishers, we are taking part in a sacred heritage, and that creation is unfolding all around us.

Donald C. Jackson, Starkville, Mississippi, is the Sharp Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Fisheries at Mississippi State University. He served as a US Peace Corps volunteer in Malaysia, attended Lexington Theological Seminary, and was pastor of New Liberty Christian Church, Disciples of Christ. He is a past president of the Mississippi Wildlife Federation and the American Fisheries Society. An avid duck hunter and fisherman, he is the author of Tracks and Wilder Ways, both published by the University Press of Mississippi.