While we have numerous talented and committed contributors here at the site, this month I wish to single out one of them.

Brian Robbins debuted on the site two and half years ago with an essay on attending a Wilco show with his two daughters back in 2000. From here he began expanding into CD reviews, features and even held down a column for a while.

Now we’ve never met, although I’ve had been able to watch him on a couple of occasions. The son and brother of Maine lobstermen (he once pursued the same profession himself), Brian appears with them in the documentary film Salt of The Earth (directed by Randy Olson, the Harvard Ph.D. in Coral reef ecology who went on to direct Flock of Dodos: The Evolution-Intelligent Design Circus and Sizzle! A Global Warming Comedy ). That film celebrated its 20th anniversary in September via a screening event at the Collins Center for the Arts at the University of Maine Orono, in which Brian and his brother Steve performed alongside special guest John McEuen, who worked on the soundtrack to Sizzle!.

Now on March 15, North Wind Publishing will release Bearin’s: The Book. It draws on over 20 years of columns that Brian has contributed to Commercial Fisheries News. The publisher explains, “These author selected columns are the best of Robbins’ unique blend of humor, wry observations, and personal reflections on life. Originally written for a commercial fishing audience, these columns encompass characters, situations, and themes, that are bound to resonate with all readers. He’ll make you laugh, maybe even shed a tear, and definitely leave you wanting more.”

I have a nary a doubt and I’m looking forward to following Brian’s Bearin’s

later days and peace,
Dean