Description

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When the Island had Fish is the story of a tiny island, Vinalhaven Maine, that offers a close look at the significant history of Maine fishing particularly, but also provides a meditation on America's past and future. Vinalhaven's fishing history is in every way America's history. It's a story of habitations by native peoples and European-American settlers, their use of natural resources, their communities and kin, and their efforts to find ways to live in a harsh environment. Anyone interested in creating a viable collective future will learn from reading about the Penobscot Bay fisheries and fishermen, and about Vinalhaven's citizens' expansive knowledge of craft, husbandry, self-governance and community independence, and interdependence.

About the Author

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Janna Malamud Smith has lectured and has published widely nationally and internationally. She is the author of four books. The first two, Private Matters. (1997) and A Potent Spell. (2003) were chosen as "Notable Books" by The New York Times Sunday Book Review. Her third, "My Father is a book." (2006) was selected as a Washington Post Best Book of the Year, and a New York Times Editor's Choice. Two of her essays were reprinted in Best American Essays. Her most recent book is An Absorbing Errand: How Artists and Craftsmen Make their way to Mastery (2013). She writes regularly for Cognoscenti, an opinion website for WBUR a Boston NPR station.