Tangier is a mere dot of land in the middle of the Chesapeake Bay
situated just below the Maryland-Virginia line, barely high, long, and wide
enough to accommodate the nearly 700 souls who call it home and who
earn their living as watermen (oystering, fishing, and crabbing). This book is
an account of the Islanders’ beginnings in the late 1700s, a portrait of them
as an isolated community under siege, and a description of the way they talk.
David Shores was born on Tangier and has kept in touch since early
childhood with the Islanders, many of whom are his closest relatives. His
father was a waterman, and he himself is no stranger to the industry. He
knows Tangier as place, its people, and the way they talk firsthand and
addresses their concerns as they face ever-receding shorelines and
declining fisheries that are crucial in the continuance of the Island
community. His coverage of place, people, and talk seeks to satisfy the
natural curiosities people have about such places and pays homage to a
small isolated group of people perched upon a speck of marshy land with
urgent impulses to endure.
situated just below the Maryland-Virginia line, barely high, long, and wide
enough to accommodate the nearly 700 souls who call it home and who
earn their living as watermen (oystering, fishing, and crabbing). This book is
an account of the Islanders’ beginnings in the late 1700s, a portrait of them
as an isolated community under siege, and a description of the way they talk.
David Shores was born on Tangier and has kept in touch since early
childhood with the Islanders, many of whom are his closest relatives. His
father was a waterman, and he himself is no stranger to the industry. He
knows Tangier as place, its people, and the way they talk firsthand and
addresses their concerns as they face ever-receding shorelines and
declining fisheries that are crucial in the continuance of the Island
community. His coverage of place, people, and talk seeks to satisfy the
natural curiosities people have about such places and pays homage to a
small isolated group of people perched upon a speck of marshy land with
urgent impulses to endure.
| Tangier Island: Place, People, and Talk by David L. Shores |
David Shores was born on Tangier Island and grew up in Urbanna,
Virginia. He was educated at Randolph-Macon College, Vanderbilt
University, and Peabody College. Now retired from teaching at Old
Dominion University, he lives in Virginia Beach, Virginia.
Virginia. He was educated at Randolph-Macon College, Vanderbilt
University, and Peabody College. Now retired from teaching at Old
Dominion University, he lives in Virginia Beach, Virginia.
| About the Author |
| $15.00 |