Mark Kurlansky

Harman Writer-In-Residence, Spring 2007

Mark Kurlansky has written nine books of non fiction; Boogaloo on 2nd Avenue: A Novel of Pastry, Guilt and Music; a collection of short stories, The White Man in the Tree and Other Stories; and three children’s books. His writing has been translated into twenty languages.

Among his best known books are Cod: A Biography of the Fish That Changed the World, The Basque History of the World: The Story of a Nation, Salt: A World History, 1968: The Year That Rocked the World, and The Big Oyster: History on the Half Shell. He is the recipient of numerous awards including the James Beard Award for Excellence in Food Writing and the Glenfiddich Food and Drink Award. Scheduled for publication in October 2006 is his newest book, Nonviolence: 25 Lessons from the History of a Dangerous Idea, with a forward by the Dalai Lama.

From 1976 to 1991, he was a foreign reporter for The International Herald Tribune, The Chicago Tribune, The Miami Herald, and The Philadelphia Inquirer. Based in Paris and then Mexico, he reported on Europe, West Africa, Southeast Asia, Central America, Latin America and the Caribbean. His articles have appeared in a many magazines including Partisan Review, Harper’s, The New York Times Magazine, Audubon Magazine, Food & Wine and Gourmet.

“He was born in Hartford, Connecticut in 1948 and lives with his wife and daughter in Manhattan.“The thrilling thing about the year 1968 was that it was a time when significant segments of population all over the globe refused to be silent about the many things that were wrong with the world. They could not be silenced. There were too many of them, and if they were given no other opportunity, they would stand in the street and shout about them. And this gave the world a sense of hope that it has rarely had, a sense that where there is wrong, there are always people who will expose it and try to change it.”

— From 1968: The Year that Rocked the World

Biographical Update

Mr. Kurlansky’s recent works include The Last Fish Tale: The Fate of the Atlantic and Survival in Gloucester, America’s Oldest Fishing Port and Most Original Town (2008); a translation of The Belly of Paris by Emile Zola (2009); and the anthology The Food of a Younger Land (2009), a portrait of American food from the lost WPA files. (June 2009)