Synopses & Reviews
For young Jack Daniel, fishing was a way to escape from the harshness of life in the projects of Johnstown, Pennsylvania, or from the drudgery of chores on his grandparents' farm in Virginia. But it wasn't until his son, Omari, began writing poetry that he learned to look to their shared passion for insights into parenting.
Like many fathers, Jack disliked his son's taste in music and wanted him to work harder. Like many sons, Omari felt his father was too demanding and too quick with punishment. But on the Juniata River, they learned to be friends, they learned that the rope tied between their waists as a lifeline would gradually take on metaphoric qualities, and they learned that time spent in the close-knit community of family -- even the company of ribald uncles, cousins, and other relatives at the fishing camp -- would lay a stronger foundation for fatherhood than either could have imagined.
In We Fish, two generations of Daniel men share a dialogue in poetry and prose as each delights in their time spent fishing and considers the universal challenge of raising good children. The lessons they share have the power to save a generation of young black men.
Review
“An excellent and delightful autobiography, a book any man, white or black, who is concerned about being a father and who likes to fish, write poetry, or hunt could learn from. Like Langston Hughes’s “The Big Sea’, Dr. Daniel’s book captures one with its humor, honesty, and depth of understanding.”
--African American Review
"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 a 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, author of What You Owe Me
"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. It is a soulful, spell-binding tale of the journey to manhood across generations. Through trash talking, analyses of the social landscape, and the best poetry I’ve seen in a long time, the book teaches us what it means to train up a black male child in these times."
—Geneva Smitherman, co-author of Educating African American Males
"A remarkable achievement. A rare literary conversation, with audacity and authenticity, between a father and son, this book is certain to become a classic."
—Molefi Kete Asante, Editor, Journal of Black Studies
Review
“An excellent and delightful autobiography, a book any man, white or black, who is concerned about being a father and who likes to fish, write poetry, or hunt could learn from. Like Langston Hughes’s “The Big Sea’, Dr. Daniel’s book captures one with its humor, honesty, and depth of understanding.”
--African American Review
Review
"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 a 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, author of What You Owe Me
Review
"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. It is a soulful, spell-binding tale of the journey to manhood across generations. Through trash talking, analyses of the social landscape, and the best poetry I’ve seen in a long time, the book teaches us what it means to train up a black male child in these times."
—Geneva Smitherman, co-author of Educating African American Males
Review
"A remarkable achievement. A rare literary conversation, with audacity and authenticity, between a father and son, this book is certain to become a classic."
—Molefi Kete Asante, Editor, Journal of Black Studies
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.