4 // COASTWEEKEND.COM
Books, gardening, hiking, hobbies,
recreation, personalities, travel & more
Fourth-generation fi sher’s secret is revealed
Ilwaco teen captures sights, sounds and smells of life afl oat
sixth sense,” said Taylor. “When you
are sitting inside the boat, the wind
Taylor Young’s family had no idea
will start to whistle through a crack in
he had a secret.
something. The wind will be blowing,
All was revealed at a parents’ con-
the seas are being rough. I look at my
ference at Ilwaco High School.
surroundings and will write it down …
John and Johanna Taylor were
Sometimes, I look at a picture then put
shocked — but delighted — to learn
two and two together.”
their 17-year-old son was a poet. And
Teacher Glinert serves as his dili-
a good one, according to his language
gent editor; she appreciates Taylor’s
arts teacher, Jill Glinert.
trust in her critical feedback about the
The teenager’s work will be show-
hand-written words that describe dan-
cased at the 2017 FisherPoets Gather-
gers faced by the “fi shermen brother-
ing in Astoria.
hood” in poems called “Mayday” and
Organizers like Jon Broderick are
“Deep Blue Sea.”
pleased, too.
His initial writing skills developed
“He’s probably the youngest guy on from class projects; both acknowledge
the schedule this year,” he said. “We’ve the words fl ow more smoothly now it’s
had high-school-age fi sherpoets in the
a choice not a chore. “It was fantastic
past, but Taylor is the fi rst scheduled
to see the transformation,” Glinert
participant who wasn’t even born when recalled. “He went fi shing and came
the FisherPosts Gathering
back with books fi lled with
began. I thought it might be
poems. He would say, ‘What
fi tting to celebrate our 20th
‘YOU CAN did I think of this?’ You
annual with a new fi sherpoet
ALMOST can almost feel the motion
about that age himself.”
the boat and the sea and
FEEL
THE of
Taylor Young, an IHS
smell the salt air. I started to
MOTION realize his poetry was able
senior, started dabbling in
OF THE
poetry to help a friend who
to carry me off to visualize
BOAT
was having dating issues.
the ocean.”
That morphed into writing
His parents sparkle with
AND THE
about what he knows best:
comparable
enthusiasm
SEA AND
fi shing.
when
they
gather
around
SMELL THE the dining room table
The Youngs are a
at
SALT AIR.’ their Ilwaco home to chat.
multi-generational com-
mercial fi shing family. John
“We are very proud of
— Jill Glinert,
Taylor grew up in Pelican,
him,” said John Taylor,
Ilwaco teacher
Alaska, learning from his
45, during a break from
talking about
own father and grandfa-
crabbing out of Westport,
Taylor Young’s
ther. That makes Taylor a
Washington. “We had no
poetry
fourth-generation fi sher.
idea,” he said, thinking
He’s even named Taylor
back to that IHS parent
Bay for an Alaska locale.
conference. “We went to
His brother Joshua, 7, is about the age
the school, and the teacher was raving
Taylor was when he started fi shing.
about his writing skills.”
Taylor has accompanied his father to
His mom, Johanna, feels similarly
Alaska on the Falcon, a 59-foot vessel
about the way they found out. It was
they sail north from Seattle most sum-
at the end of his junior year. “He had
mers. The sights, sounds and smells of
not shared anything with me. I am
long-lining for black cod and halibut
in awe — it’s amazing,” she said. “It
inspire him to put pencil to paper.
makes me emotional, not knowing
“Sometimes they come to me and
that he did this. I was, like, ‘Wow! I’m
can be triggered by suggestions, or
amazed.’”
something can set it off. It’’s like a
After his poetry appearance this
By PATRICK WEBB
T
MAYDAY
Blistering winds,
Freezing sprays,
The sound of an engine.
Sounds of men yelling,
Seeing their tears
Tears of sorrow,
Realizing they have
one more trip.
The sound of Mayday,
Mayday, Mayday, Mayday.
The dropping of lines and
pots
For a moment of peace,
Praying they are found
Praying they come home in
one piece.
Sailors putting their jobs on
hold
To save the crew of sinking
vessels.
The word Mayday will haunt
fi shermen forever
That’s the one word they
fear:
Mayday, Mayday, Mayday.
month, Taylor is looking forward to
playing centerfi eld during his fi nal
IHS baseball season and graduating in
June. He likely will work toward an
associate’s degree at Clatsop Commu-
nity College before he applies for a
marine biology program, possibly at
the University of Alaska-Juneau, then
a career outdoors. “I could not work
behind a desk,” he said.
He can expect a good crowd cheer-
ing him on when he shares his work
at the FisherPoets Gathering. “I have
told everybody about it,” said his dad.
PHOTO BY PATRICK WEBB
At 17, Taylor Young of Ilwaco, Washington, will be the youngest
fi sherman performing his work at the FisherPoets Gathering in
Astoria. The Ilwaco High School student was encouraged by
his teacher. Now he fi lls notebooks with hand-written poetry.
YOUNG FAMILY PHOTO
Ilwaco teenager Taylor Young is pictured in the hold of a crab-
bing vessel, learning his craft.