On Thursday, July 18, from 4:30 to 5:30 pm, Janet Messineo, author of “Casting Into the Light: Tales of a Fishing Life,” will appear at the West Tisbury library in conversation with her editor, Victoria Wilson (vice president and senior editor at Alfred A. Knopf). All are invited to this special event. Refreshments will be served. This event is free and open to the public.
The book tells tales of a champion surfcaster: the education of a young woman hell-bent on following her dream and learning the mysterious and profound sport, and art, of surfcasting, on the island of Martha’s Vineyard.
Janet Messineo knew from the get-go that she wanted to become a great fisherman. She knew she was as capable as any man of catching and landing a huge fish. It took years — and many terrifying nights along on the beach in complete darkness, in search of a huge creature to pull out of the sea — for her to prove to herself and to the male-dominated fishing community that she could make her dream real.
Janet Messineo is a former president of the Martha’s Vineyard Surfcasters Association. She has written about fishing for many publications, including On the Water, Vineyard Style, and The Martha’s Vineyard Times. She lives with her husband, Tristan Israel, in Vineyard Haven.
Victoria Wilson is senior editor, vice president at Knopf who grew up on the Vineyard. Among the many authors she has worked with: Walter Abish, Alice Adams, Diane Ravitch, Laurel Ulrich, Susan Cheever, Mary Beth Norton, Laurie Colwin, William Gass. She has served on the board of PEN American Center, Poets & Writers, and as vice president of the National Board of Review of Motion Pictures. She was appointed by President Clinton to the U.S. Civil Rights Commission. Her book, “A Life of Barbara Stanwyck: Steel-True 1907-1940, Volume One” was published by Simon & Schuster. She is at work on Volume Two of “A Life of Barbara Stanwyck,” 1940-1990.
