Skiff-fishing for lobster in Maine, 1973
Jay and John Speakman fishing in Maine, 1982
Jay is holding a lingcod, trolling in Alaska
JAY SPEAKMAN
As for the writing, I was an avid letter-writer for a good part of my life, and since my father was an author, I was exposed to the craft from an early age. I kept journals at different times, or more accurately, "logs" of different expeditions, adventures and misadventures. Many of these logs, along with some of the letters that have been returned to me, have and will continue to enlighten my writing of autobiographical essays and poems...
I think I needed to wait to start writing seriously until I was seasoned, and for me, a lot of other things had to gel for me to have not only the confidence, but also the perspective to recognize what was worthwhile. I'm still figuring out that process, but the important thing is not to lose one's sense of humor. We might all be guilty of taking life (and ourselves) a little too seriously at times.
Jay Speakman is a descendant of an old Maine seafaring family. He spent his childhood summers on Little Cranberry Island off the Maine coast. Except for three years spent in Beirut, Lebanon, he was raised in New England. After attending college in Hawaii, he began a lobstering career in Maine, then went on to fish commercially in Alaska and British Columbia.
He has also found employment on freighters and yachts, taught seamanship at an Outward Bound school, and worked as a marine mechanic and carpenter. He gave up fishing full-time to become an architectural blacksmith in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where he met his wife, Diane. Together they operate a small home-decor shop in Cannon Beach, Oregon. They have two daughters and live in Gearhart.
Speakman's writings have appeared in The Alaska Fisherman's Journal, Like Fish in the Freezer, and Moving Mountain. Over the past few years, he has been a reader at the annual Fisher Poets Gathering in Astoria.