Portuguese Spinner

Portuguese Spinner : An American Story is the first attempt to capture, in popular form, the saga of Portuguese migration and the people’s struggle to build a new life in America. This diverse collection includes oral history, folk tales, original literary contributions, scholarly reports and popular journalism. Hundreds of photographs portray the magnificent beauty of the islands and mainland, and take us into the many corners of American life where Luso Americans have left their mark.

Portuguese Spinner celebrates the influence of the Portuguese on the culture and landscape of southeastern New England, and recognizes their impact in the community, in the workplace, and in professional life. The book is separated into seven different sections: The Homeland; The New World; American Dreams; Neighborhood and Celebration; A Working Tradition; Of Whales and Fish;  and Working the Land. The reader can see the gardens of Portugal in bloom in urban New England yards, journey aboard ships in pursuit of whales and fish, enter Portuguese neighborhoods and celebrate at Portuguese feasts. This truly American story reads like a family album —brave, true, and from the heart—told by scholars, citizen historians, and by the people themselves.