The Dry Dock Bar in Portland was a bit more crowded than usual on July 6. In addition to the typical blend of tourists, fishermen and islanders enjoying a drink along the waterfront, the bar was full of people hugging copies of a new hardcover book. Maine author and fisherman Linda Greenlaw was holding a book signing for her latest nonfiction volume, All Fishermen are Liars: True Tales from the Dry Dock Bar. As the sun set that evening over the Custom House wharf, people waited outside in a two-story line just for Greenlaw’s signature.
There should be little surprise that Greenlaw’s tandem appearance with her new book brought out such a large audience. She first swirled into American consciousness when Sebastian Junger wrote about her in his nonfiction book The Perfect Storm. Greenlaw was described as a tough, competent and intelligent woman with the strength to work as the sole female captain of an offshore sword-fishing vessel. Following this initial introduction, Greenlaw’s own book, The Hungry Ocean, quickly made the bestseller list.
Several years later, Greenlaw followed her successful debut with a second book, The Lobster Chronicles: Life on a Very Small Island. This book was also a hit, becoming a national bestseller. This year she received the New England Book Award, presented by the New England Booksellers Association to honor an author whose body of work stands as a contribution to New England. In addition, Greenlaw’s literary popularity has gone well beyond the borders of the U.S., as she has become an internationally recognized author. As Philip Conkling noted in a recent Working Waterfront column, “Linda Greenlaw’s Lobster Chronicles… is must reading for islanders throughout the Swedish archipelago.” The Maine Sunday Telegram heralded her as one of Maine’s two best authors, putting her on par with Steven King and raising her above the importance of Pulitzer Prize winning Maine native Richard Russo. Such is the power and phenomenon of fisherman and author Linda Greenlaw.
All Fisherman are Liars will likely maintain Greenlaw’s position in the spotlight. In this latest nonfiction book, she winds together a collection of “true” fishing stories, presenting them under the guise of meeting with her old friend Alden one afternoon at the Dry Dock Bar. If readers are willing to suspend disbelief that all the stories were gathered in one day, the collection is quite enjoyable. Greenlaw covers a range of experiences – historical and present, commercial and private – with a diverse array of fishermen. One story includes her four-year-old nephew; another covers a disaster off the coast of Deer Isle in 1836. Her voice, ever full of her trademark dry and sarcastic Maine humor, keeps the stories moving. Greenlaw is, as always, a talented storyteller.
Despite her abilities to spin a yarn, all of Greenlaw’s books are nonfiction (or as close to nonfiction as fishing stories can be). This creates an interesting collision with her popularity, as Greenlaw writes on an international scale about some very local issues. The Lobster Chronicles, for instance, describes one of her typical summers on Isle au Haut. Her quirky images of island living capture the essence of very small coastal communities. By presenting these stories and images on a national scale, Greenlaw has defined island life for people all over the country; especially for those people whom may never set foot on an island. Her writing increases attention and understanding of island life and working waterfront communities. Greenlaw is, essentially, one of the only mainstream authors who will put a face on the small islands in Maine.
Not everyone may agree with increased attention on island communities, however. Isle au Haut, an island with a very small year round population, does not advertise itself as a tourist destination. In fact, one Isle au Haut website strongly recommends tourists to visit Vinalhaven or Monhegan Island instead of coming to Isle au Haut. Since Greenlaw’s book was published, two new inns have opened on the island – a significant increase for a town that had minimal tourist services before The Lobster Chronicles. Lest there is any doubt the rise in tourism solely came from Greenlaw’s book, Isle au Haut.net responds to the question, “Can you give me Linda Greenlaw’s e-mail address?” with “No, I cannot. Not only do I not have it, I don’t even know if she has one. I also cannot forward messages to her, give you her phone number, tell you where her house is, etc. Please stop asking.”
Then there is the personal aspect of Greenlaw’s stories. In both All Fishermen are Liars and The Lobster Chronicles, Greenlaw does not hold back when describing her acquaintances. Her style – the frank, direct and sarcastic – makes her books engaging. Yet she has written about real people in a very public forum. It is not uncommon to hear Casco Bay islanders quip, “I don’t know how they let her stay on the island after she wrote that book.” Islanders may gossip amongst themselves as if it was an Olympic sport, but they expect the gossip to stay along the Coast of Maine.
Greenlaw’s books do not keep her ideas in New England. Her books sell, and they sell well. All Fishermen are Liars was number 34 on the New York Times bestseller list within weeks of its publication. Whereas the attention gained from The Lobster Chronicles was not favored by all in Maine, the public attention for Greenlaw’s latest book may be exactly what the fishing community needs. Just as her representations of island life defined these communities to the nation, her new book similarly publicly defines the hardships of the fishing industry for the country. In a time when fishing regulations are increasing and the working waterfront is diminishing, virtually any attention to the plight of fishermen will be beneficial.
In All Fishermen are Liars, the incredible challenges of fishing rise as a common theme among stories. Physical, mental and financial health are constantly at risk among her characters. Each story reveals another component of the risks and dangers of this way of life. Greenlaw also occasionally refers to the political and legislative challenges for the working waterfront. She writes, commercial fishing laws are “regarded by many as aimed to kill the industry rather than make it stronger… There are bad regulations. For instance, daily quotas on certain species, which result in the throwing overboard of dead fish, do nothing for conservation or the rebuilding of stocks. In fact, they’re wasteful.” In the wake of Amendment 13, this direct, public statement about regulations should be highly beneficial. With the vast range of readers Greenlaw reaches, she is increasing understanding and awareness of the coastal way of life. “Good regulations are good;” she writes in All Fishermen are Liars, “dumb ones are not only dumb, they make it harder for fishermen to make a living. The result is that an entire community and a way of life are in peril too.”
Despite these occasional views on fishing regulations, Greenlaw’s book is overwhelmingly intended to be entertaining, not educational. Yet it is her voice, her engaging means of storytelling, which sells millions of copies of her books. All Fishermen are Liars likely will not change the world of fishing regulations. It is likely, though, that Linda Greenlaw will sell many, many copies. Moreover, with a little luck, Greenlaw’s engaging stories will slowly help alter the American conception of the commercial fishing industry for the better.