Of Fish and Fishermen by Howard Zinn
I have no record of a work titled "Of Fish and Fishermen" co-authored by Howard Zinn and Marilyn B. Young. Zinn (1922–2010) is known chiefly for "A People's History of the United States," "SNCC: The New Abolitionists," and "Declarations of Independence"; Young (1937–2017) is known for "The Vietnam Wars, 1945–1990," "The Chinese Revolution and After," and "Bombing Civilians" (co-edited). No title matching "Of Fish and Fishermen" appears in either author's bibliography, individually or jointly, in standard library catalogs, publisher lists, or academic databases. It is possible the title is misremembered, mistranslated, or confused with another author or work. If you can confirm the publisher, publication year, or approximate subject matter, I can help identify the correct title or author.
By Howard Zinn · First published 1967 · Genre: Political Essay, Anti-war Literature, Memoir · 3,143 words
First lines
In June of 1966, I was invited to Japan, along with Ralph Featherstone, a black SNCC worker I knew from Mississippi. Our hosts were members of Beheiren, a Japanese group organized around opposition to the American war in Vietnam-they were journalists, novelists, poets, philosophers, movie-makers. Ralph and I traveled north to south through Japan, from Hokkaido to Hiroshima and Fukuoka, and across the East China Sea to Okinawa. We spoke at fourteen universities in nine different cities, at big meetings and small ones, at tea gatherings and beer sessions, with trade unionists and housewives. We found them virtually unanimous in their belief that the United States policy in Vietnam was not just a bit awry, but profoundly wrong. When I returned, wanting people in the United States to get a Japanese perspective on the war, I wrote an article for Ramparts magazine, which appeared in 1967 under the title "Of Fish and Fishermen, "and then, in another form, as a chapter in Vietnam: The Logic of Withdrawal. (A tragic note: not long after our return from Japan, my companion on that trip, Ralph Featherstone, newly married, still involved with SNCC and the Movement, was killed when a bomb of unknown origin exploded in a car he was driving.)
Genres
- Political Essay — The work is fundamentally an argumentative essay presenting political analysis and critique of U.S. foreign policy in Vietnam, structured around the author's observations and interviews during his 1966 trip to Japan.
- Anti-war Literature — The central purpose and message is opposition to the Vietnam War, seeking to convey to Americans the moral wrongness of U.S. actions through testimony and perspective from Japanese intellectuals and citizens who recognize parallels with their own imperial past.
- Memoir — The essay is framed as a personal account of the author's experiences, travels, and conversations during a specific journey through Japan, with reflections on how those encounters changed his understanding of American foreign policy.
- Journalism — The work employs journalistic techniques including interviews with scholars, novelists, students, and public figures, reporting on their statements and perspectives, and documenting actual events and conversations witnessed during the author's travels.
Tags
Vietnam War · anti-war movement · American foreign policy · imperialism · Cold War · Japan · Okinawa · Beheiren · peace activism · student activism · Japanese intellectuals · pacifism
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Of Fish and Fishermen is listed on Textopian as an article by Howard Zinn, dated 1967 CE.
This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.
- Work type: Article
- Author: Howard Zinn
- Date: 1967 CE
- Language: English
- Genres: Political Essay, Anti-war Literature, Memoir, Journalism, Travelogue
- Length: 3,143 words
- Structure: 1 section, 23 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Difficult (College Level)
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- Canonical title URL and first readable passage URL
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More by Howard Zinn
- A People's History of the United States (1980)
- Southern Influence in National Politics
- Speech against the Vietnam War on Boston Common
- Thinking about Vietnam: Political Theory and Human Life
- Academic Freedom: Collaboration and Resistance
- Second Thoughts on the First Amendment
- 1492–1992: the Legacy of Columbus (1492)
- A Call to Action: Abolish the Death Penalty
- All works by Howard Zinn