Martin, Irene 1946- (Irene Elizabeth Martin)

PERSONAL:

Born 1946. Education: York University, B.A. (hons.), 1969; University of Toronto, B.L.S., 1970; University of British Columbia, M.L.S., 1975.

ADDRESSES:

Office—St. James Episcopal Church, 1134 Columbia St., Cathlamet, WA 98612.

CAREER:

Librarian, 1970-73, including positions at Cambrian College of Applied Arts and Technology, Sudbury, Ontario, Canada, and Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada; freelance writer, 1974—. Ordained Episcopal priest, 1992; St. James Episcopal Church, Cathlamet, WA, priest, board member of St. James Family Center, 1988—. Co-owner of three fishing vessels working on the Columbia River, Willapa Bay, Bristol Bay, and Alaska; Salmon for All, board member, 1998-2002; Lower Columbia Fisheries Enhancement Group, board member, 2003—; Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission, advisor, 2005—. Skamokawa Community Library, volunteer librarian, 1974—; Friends of Skamokawa Foundation, founding board member, 1986-89, historian and archivist, 1988—; Wahkiakum Mental Health, board member, 1992-96; Wahkiakum County Lewis and Clark Task Force, member, 2000—.

AWARDS, HONORS:

James B. Castle Heritage Award, Center for Columbia River History, Washington State Historical Society, 1998; Washington Governor's Heritage Award, 2000.

WRITINGS:

Legacy and Testament: The Story of Columbia River Gillnetters, Washington State University Press (Pullman, WA), 1994.

The Beach of Heaven: A History of Wahkiakum County, Washington State University Press (Pullman, WA), 1997.

Lewis and Clark in the Land of the Wahkiakums: A Local Companion to the Journals, Scrub Jay Press (Tollhouse, CA), 2003.

Sea Fire: Tales of Jesus and Fishing, Crossroad Publishing (New York, NY), 2003.

Author of scripts for slide and tape presentations. Contributor to periodicals, including Portage and Washington Heritage.

SIDELIGHTS:

Irene Martin told CA: "I have always been interested in writing, going back to grade school. I am particularly influenced by the natural environment; I spend a lot of time just observing. I tend to write in spurts, where I work twelve to fourteen hours a day for a period of weeks, and then not at all for weeks. I need time to reflect on what I have written, and then come back to it and rewrite.

"I find writing very physically demanding. Sitting for many hours concentrating on a computer screen makes my muscles stiff and my eyes tired by the end of the day. Sea Fire: Tales of Jesus and Fishing is my favorite book; it is my best work."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Pacific Historical Review, May, 1999, Robert E. Ficken, review of The Beach of Heaven: A History of Wahkiakum County, p. 345.

Public Historian, spring, 1999, review of The Beach of Heaven, p. 115.

Reference & Research Book News, May, 1998, review of The Beach of Heaven, p. 50.