On March 6, Books on Tap discussed the 2025 Same Page Community Read title, Chesapeake Requiem: A Year With the Watermen of Vanishing Tangier Island by Earl Swift. Swift, a local author who lives in the Afton area, was a long-time reporter for the Virginian Pilot, has contributed features to Outside and other magazines, and was a residential fellow of Virginia Humanities at the University of Virginia.  JMRL’s Central Library Brown Baggers also discussed this title on March 13th.  (Several Brown Baggers didn’t finish the title; just couldn’t stay engaged and felt the author needed a stronger editor.)

Participants had mixed reactions to the book. One, who was reading it for the second time, absolutely loves it and even purchased a copy on a visit to Tangier Island. Different aspects of the book appealed to different people. Some found the people and way of life fascinating. Others were interested in the ecological theme of the Chesapeake Bay environment. 

Swift spent a lot of time on the island and earned the trust of the people. Overall he kept an open mind and presented the subject in a neutral, journalistic way. But on occasion his opinions and point of view slip in. Readers found it interesting to consider how one would plot out a nonfiction book like this, finding that he did a good job alternating between the different themes and storylines. Others noted that he put the reader into the situation and contextualized it well. 

Most of the discussion centered around the attitudes and actions of the residents of Tangier Island. Some attributed those attitudes to the people’s experiences living as watermen, a fact that is integral to their sense of identity. Living so attuned to the natural cycles and being so dependent on the sea means their value systems are different. It is a hard life and they work long hours under difficult circumstances leaving little time for outside considerations. One reader compared the community to an Amish enclave, avoiding technology and resisting being viewed as a spectacle or tourist attraction. They saw a parallel between living off the land by farming and living on the water. 

Other participants found it hard to sympathize with the islanders and their strong reliance on God to fix things while they do little to improve their situation. The book included multiple examples of come-heres, outsiders who moved to the island. These transplants worked hard to improve life on the island, setting up the museum, creating a family tree of the island’s families, and spearheading other projects. Yet, in the end, the islanders turn against these individuals, driving them from the island. They are dependent on the life cycle of crabs and oysters, but are unable to see how their actions may affect those animals. They harvest females with eggs, keeping them from reproducing and wonder why there are fewer crabs. They blame dropping harvests on the crabs suddenly becoming smarter and avoiding the watermen. 

The episode of the efforts to find and rescue the crew of a sinking ship brought out the contradictory attitudes of the islanders. Despite the late hour and horrific weather, everyone dropped everything to risk their own lives to try to save their fellow watermen. Yet afterward, the pastor created the narrative for how the community would process the tragedy – the loss was mitigated by the fact that the dead man had been recently saved, and the salvation of two family members as a result of the event was cause for celebration. 

Some readers pointed out that the sinking of the ship had other parallels to island life. Basic maintenance was not done, and eventually the ship sank in rough weather because of it. Their island is sinking, and the people refuse to take steps to prevent it from happening. But while being watermen is their identity, most recognize that island life is hard and want better for their kids. Even if the island itself can be saved, the way of life is still vanishing. 

The island is effectively a theocracy, with residents seeming to have no concept of separation of church and state. Every public event has a religious component, and even the town water tower has a cross painted on it. Yet this dry island has serious problems with crime and drugs. Some residents point to the “other watermen” who don’t attend church. One reader pointed out that if your life is so hard, what is your escape? 

Would book group members want to visit the island given the opportunity? Some were intrigued, while others didn’t want to interact with the island residents. Those who had visited the island expressed interest in seeing how things had changed since their last visit. They did say there is a sense that it is a manufactured tourist spot, and that an afternoon visit was long enough, with no reason to spend the night. Brown Baggers brought up other cities like Venice, Italy that are being ruined by tourism and climate change/rising sea levels.

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To join the email list for either of these book groups, email kfarrell@Jmrl.org.