Sidney I. Dobrin

One of Sid Dobrin's brothers once asked him, "Why do you read comic books? Your life is more exciting than most comic books." And while that may not be exactly true, Sid has tried to live by the words of Benjamin Franklin: "Either write the things worth reading, or do things worth the writing." Sid (b. 1967) grew up in Norfolk, Virginia, and along with his two brothers showed an early propensity for "adventure." As he recounts in his first fishing book, Distance Casting, one summer his parents had to contend with the fact that during the course of a single week, one brother was running with the bulls in Pamplona, one was surfing a hurricane in Florida, and Sid was alone somewhere in Alaska with a kayak and a fishing rod. To make matters worse, all three were "respectable" professors by that time. His parents, also professors, remain unclear as to the Dobrin Boys' effect upon the value of the professional title. Sid is professor and Chair in the Department of English at the University of Florida, where for ten years he directed the writing program. He is also Director of the Trace Innovation Initiative in the Department of English at UF. He also serves as Chair of the American Sportfishing Association's Advocacy Committee. He has written and edited more than twenty books, with several more in processes, about writing, ecology, technology, and, of course, fishing. His research and writing are known internationally, and he speaks often at conferences and by invitation around the world. His textbooks are used widely throughout the country. He is a board member for several academic journals, and contributes regularly to magazines and journals. In addition to his writing and academic work, Sid is a certified scuba instructor, licensed boat captain and guide, and avid saltwater fisherman. He is also an emerging nature film maker, emphasizing representations of marine environments. He is, by all accounts, a blue water bum. Sid is a graduate of the Hebrew Academy of Tidewater, Norfolk Collegiate School (1985), Virginia Wesleyan College (BA, 1989), Old Dominion University (MA, 1991), and the University of South Florida (PhD, 1995). He resides in Gainesville, Florida.