Before we get to our list of what’s happening today/tonight, we’re looking ahead to Thursday, when West Seattle writer Steve Duda will launch his first book “River Songs” with an event at Emerald Water Anglers (4502 42nd SW; WSB sponsor). “River Songs,” subtitled “Moments of Wild Wonder in Fly Fishing,” is described in the launch announcement as “a collection of 14 essays that represent the wonders and losses experienced in a life outdoors.”

Distinguished writer and head of Fish Tales at Patagonia, Steve Duda asks what is it about this “ridiculous activity” that connects us to this planet, makes us human, and gives us hope? Avoiding fly fishing’s clichés of romantic elegies, Moby-Dick-like conquests, and play-by-plays of “victory” over a fish, Duda instead offers pieces that breathe lived experience, reveal vulnerabilities, and a broad perspective of what it means to have “a long run with a tight crew.” Interspersed through the essays, readers will discover 14 “river songs”—short pieces of prose and poetry that introduce moments of reflection, insight, humor, and tenderness.

The event Thursday (August 1) at EWA is at 6:30 pm. Duda says, “I’ll be giving a short reading, followed by a discussion with Dylan Tomine (author of “Headwaters” and “Closer to the Ground”) and then a Q&A. Cover artist and River Songs’ illustrator Matthew Delorme will also attend and will have prints of his work available. Food from Eva’s Wild will be served. Beer by Georgetown Brewing.” If you can’t make it to the event, check your favorite local independent bookstore for “River Songs,” or get it through publisher Mountaineers Books (which also is headquartered in West Seattle).