Long Beach writer debuts poet�� collection
Book is local author’s
latest release
BY ZOË BUCHLI
In many ways, author Jan Bono’s latest
book reads like a biography.
The book, “Fisher Girl, Fisher Wife,
Fisher Poet” features a collection of poems
inspired by Bono’s relationship with fi sh-
ing, spanning from her childhood, to her
life now.
Using old black and white photos along-
side her poems, the book weaves her life’s
moments together through the lens of
fi shing.
“I’ve always been a dock rat,” Bono
said. “I was always hanging out there, and
all of these things about fi shing and the sea
have become ingrained in me.”
The fi rst section of the book, “Fisher
Girl,” explores Bono’s childhood memories
of fi shing. Her family’s connection to fi sh-
ing started nearly a century ago when one
of her grandfathers worked as a fi sherman
on the Mississippi River. Bono’s father con-
tinued the family fi shing line working as a
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Jan Bono
Buying Bono’s work
Jan Bono can be reached at 360-642- 4932
to purchase books from her directly. Books
are also available to order at
janbonobooks.com.
fi sherman in the rivers of northern Wash-
ington. He would often bring Bono along
on his adventures.
“I wasn’t quite two years old when my
mom made my dad take me fi shing. He had
to tie a rope around my waist so that if I fell
in he could reel me in before I drowned,”
Bono said. “I loved it. I loved learning to
fl y fi sh. I remember catching my fi rst steel-
head was an amazing moment.”
The following two sections, “Fisher
Wife” and “Fisher Poet” shift to poems
infl uenced by Bono’s more recent links to
fi shing, including being married to a com-
mercial fi sherman after moving to the
Washington coast in 1977.
“I had fresh fi sh coming in all the time.
The freezer was always full of seafood,”
Bono said.
Following Bono’s separation from him,
she still found herself surrounded by “fi sher
friends” and an overarching love for the
sport.
Fast forward to the FisherPoets Gather-
ing last year, where Bono found her light-
bulb moment for the book. While talking
with friends at the event, one of them asked
her point-blank: “Well Jan, when’s your
book coming out?”
“(I remember thinking,) I have all the
stories. All my life I’ve had fi shing stories.
If I brainstormed right now I bet I could
come up with 30,” Bono said.
Immediately, she began crafting poems
on a paper towel while listening to other
poets perform.
“Of course, it was the one time in my
life where I didn’t bring my notebook with
me,” she said.
Dave Densmore is a longtime friend
and mentor of Bono’s. In addition to work-
ing as a fi sherman in Astoria and having
his own career of poetry writing, Densmore
regularly emcees and performs at the Fish-
erPoets Gathering.
“I’m her mentor but she doesn’t need
any help,” Densmore said. “She’s a very
talented writer and one of the best known in
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