We Fish: The Journey To Fatherhood - Hardcover

Daniel, Jack L.; Daniel, Omari C.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0822941988 ISBN 13: 9780822941989

Publisher: University of Pittsburgh Press, 2003

Synopsis

We Fish is  the  tale of a father and son's shared dialogue in poetry and in prose, memoir and reflection, as they delight in their time spent fishing while considering the universal challenge of raising good children. Their story and their lesson have the power to teach today's young African American men about friendship, family, and trust; and the potential to save a generation from the dangers of the modern world and from themselves.

About this title

From the Inside Flap:

I was too young to remember the story

so I must sit silent while the old men

tell their carp stories around the night fire

watch their age stand still

as they relive their battles.

-from "The Carp"

Throughout his life-as an academic and a professional, as a husband and a father, and as an African American male-Jack Daniel waged his share of battles.

Fishing was always his primary solace. At first, young Jack used the beds and banks of the Juniata River to escape the harshness of a two-bedroom tenement in the projects of Johnstown, Pennsylvania. During the summers, he would also fish small creeks and ponds as relief from the tedious work "down home" on his grandparents' Virginia farm. In time, his expertise grew, as did his interest, and he began sharing a fishing camp with other Daniel men-his ribald uncles, cousins, and other relations-in what became a family tradition that would eventually span four generations. Jack was exposed to a variety of male role models, especially his two hero uncles, William and Nash, who worked hard, drank hard, and generally set out to "live the life." And his lifelong passion-his "fever" in his son Omari's words-presented him with unexpected insights into work, life, and parenting.

Jack, by his own admission, was a tough father. He raised Omari to work beyond his own expectations and the standards educators and society placed on young black males. Jack, as an administrator at a major metropolitan university, pushed his son academically and morally. He did not approve of Omari's favorite music, the message or the language, and he did not tolerate mediocrity. Like most adolescents, Omari felt his father was too demanding, too quick to punish, with too little regard for his own feelings.

That relationship changed when they were on the Juniata River, casting for bass and wading in the swift currents. When Omari first began fishing, Jack would bind their waists together as a safety precaution. Omari, inevitably, would fall under the water's incessant tug, and Jack would pull him up. Gradually, the rope they used as a lifeline took on a deeper, metaphoric meaning.

Yet it wasn't until Omari began writing poetry that Jack truly understood the importance of those fishing trips. In reading his son's powerful words, he gained insight into the intergenerational bond that he had created, not only with Omari, but with his own father-who would eventually join them on the banks of the Juniata River-and with the other men in their close-knit, family community.

We Fish is their tale-a father and son's shared dialogue in poetry and in prose, memoir and reflection, as they delight in their time spent fishing while considering the universal challenge of raising good children. Their story and their lesson have the power to teach today's young African American men about friendship, family, and trust; and the potential to save a generation from the dangers of the modern world and from themselves.

From the Back Cover:

"Shows us that of all the bridges that boys must cross to manhood, there is none so sturdy as the love of family. This book is warm, soulful journey back to where so many successful black men came from, and a guide to where so many troubled young black men need to be." -Bebe Moore Campbell

"A must read. The Daniel men have given us a wise, sensitive - and at times hilarious - book about the nurturing and bonding of African American men.... Through trash talking, analyses of the social landscape, and the best poetry I've read in a long time, the book teaches us what it means to train up a black male child in these times." -Geneva Smitherman

"A remarkable achievement. A rare literary convention, with audacity and authenticity, between a father and son, this book is certain to become a classic." -Molefi Kete Asante

About this edition

• Publisher: University of Pittsburgh Press
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 0822941988
• ISBN 13: 9780822941989
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 216