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Thursday, Mar 29, 2012 6:45 AM UTC

At 98, once-illiterate lobsterman is an author

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Topics: From the Wires,

At 98, once-illiterate lobsterman is an authorJames Arruda Henry poses for a photograph with a painting of one his boats, "Little Chief", behind him at his apartment in Mystic, Conn., Wednesday, March 28, 2012. The 98-year-old retired lobsterman published his autobiographical essays after learning to read and write in his 90s. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill)(Credit: AP)

NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) — James Arruda Henry had plenty to be proud of as a lobster boat captain who built his own house and raised a family. But he kept a secret into his 90s, one that forced him to bluff his way through life.

Henry was illiterate. He couldn’t even read restaurant menus; he’d wait for someone else to place an order and get the same food. Sometimes he’d go hungry rather than ask for help.

Now he’s 98, and his self-published collection of autobiographical essays is being read in elementary schools. “In A Fisherman’s Language” details his barefoot beginnings in Portugal, life in a tenement in Rhode Island, boxing as a young man and his adventures at sea.

Henry says he’s very happy with the overwhelming response to his book.

John Christoffersen

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