August 14, 2020
Hunting, Death, Writing & More| Steven Rinella on The Kyle Thiermann Show
Check out the Kyle Thiermann Episode Page & Show Notes
Key Takeaways
- When it comes to writing, the sum is greater than the parts:
- “None of the instruments mean anything in absence of the orchestra” – Steven Rinella
- Writing beautiful prose is great, but if the sentences don’t flow well and tell an amazing story, the writing isn’t worth much
- “None of the instruments mean anything in absence of the orchestra” – Steven Rinella
- As a hunter, Steve has had a lot of encounters with death:
- “I think that I’m hyperaware of death and how it comes” – Steven Rinella
- “I have very close proximity to it…I think that a lot of people don’t haven’t had that but if they did, they would view everything in their life differently”
- When you observe the process of life to death, you start to look at the world differently
- “I have a hyper-realistic sense of what it means to be alive, like what goes into life”
- When you observe the process of life to death, you start to look at the world differently
- “I have very close proximity to it…I think that a lot of people don’t haven’t had that but if they did, they would view everything in their life differently”
- “I think that I’m hyperaware of death and how it comes” – Steven Rinella
- Since COVID hit, many people moved out of big cities into less populated areas like Montana
- This also means more game licenses are going to be sold. Wisconsin sold 40% more fishing licenses this Spring than a year ago.
- Since people can’t travel out of the country and most events and festivals have been canceled so more people are camping, hiking, and spending time outdoors.
- This also means more game licenses are going to be sold. Wisconsin sold 40% more fishing licenses this Spring than a year ago.
Intro
- Steven Rinella (@stevenrinella) is an outdoorsman and author. He currently hosts MeatEater on the Sportsman Channel & Netflix, as well as the MeatEater podcast.
- Host: Kyle Thiermann (@kyle_tman)
Books Mentioned
- Growing up, Steve would read a lot of books, such as Trap Lines North by Stephen W. Meader, about hunting and trapping
- American Buffalo: In Search of a Lost Icon by Steven Rinella
- Hell’s Angels by Hunter S. Thompson
- If you’re trying to become a better writer, Kyle recommends reading Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life by Anne Lamott
Steve Rinella’s Life Journey
- Growing up, Steve would read a lot of books, such as Trap Lines North by Stephen W. Meader, about hunting and trapping
- Steve grew up with two brothers and the three of them were constantly playing outside
- “We hunted together non-stop, we fished together non-stop, we just lived like that” – Steven Rinella
- Steve grew up with two brothers and the three of them were constantly playing outside
- Steve wishes he was born 200 years earlier where hunting, trapping, and living off the land was more common
- Since there wasn’t much money in trapping, Steve decided to go into journalism and eventually wrote several books
- The first three books he wrote were narrative non-fiction, but he’s also written instructional books and cookbooks
- Since there wasn’t much money in trapping, Steve decided to go into journalism and eventually wrote several books
- Now that Steve is 46, he’s been fantasizing about retirement and how relaxing it will be
Thoughts on Writing
- If you’re trying to become a better writer, Kyle recommends reading Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life by Anne Lamott
- When it comes to writing, the sum is greater than the parts:
- “None of the instruments mean anything in absence of the orchestra” – Steven Rinella
- Writing beautiful prose is great, but if the sentences don’t flow well and tell an amazing story, the writing isn’t worth much
- “None of the instruments mean anything in absence of the orchestra” – Steven Rinella
- Some writers, like Hunter S. Thompson, become so famous people view them as a character and not as a writer who wrote several amazing books
- Steven studied writing in undergraduate and graduate school
Life, Death, & Hunting
- As a hunter, Steve has had a lot of encounters with death:
- “I think that I’m hyperaware of death and how it comes” – Steven Rinella
- “I have very close proximity to it…I think that a lot of people don’t haven’t had that but if they did, they would view everything in their life differently”
- When you observe the process of life to death, you start to look at the world differently
- “I have a hyper-realistic sense of what it means to be alive, like what goes into life”
- When you observe the process of life to death, you start to look at the world differently
- “I have very close proximity to it…I think that a lot of people don’t haven’t had that but if they did, they would view everything in their life differently”
- “I think that I’m hyperaware of death and how it comes” – Steven Rinella
- There are different types of deaths:
- Hunting, killing, and cooking a rabbit in the wild has a certain aspect of beauty
- Factory farming chickens in crowded spaces contains no beauty
- A lot of former soldiers enjoy hunting, but it’s not for the killing aspect of it. They enjoy the camaraderie, using similar gear, being outdoors, having objectives, etc.
Public Land Conservation
- When oil companies drill in state waters, part of the profits go into the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF)
- Some people are trying to prevent the LWCF from buying more land because they’re saying the maintenance costs are too high. However, Steven believes that those people work for private interest groups that want the land for themselves to exploit and profit from it.
- In other words, the more land conservation that takes place, the harder it makes it for companies to exploit natural resources and profit for it
- Some people are trying to prevent the LWCF from buying more land because they’re saying the maintenance costs are too high. However, Steven believes that those people work for private interest groups that want the land for themselves to exploit and profit from it.
More People Are Going Outdoors
- Since COVID hit, many people moved out of big cities into less populated areas like Montana
- This also means more game licenses are going to be sold. Wisconsin sold 40% more fishing licenses this Spring than a year ago.
- Since people can’t travel out of the country and most events and festivals have been canceled, so more people are camping, hiking, and spending time outdoors.
- This also means more game licenses are going to be sold. Wisconsin sold 40% more fishing licenses this Spring than a year ago.
