Dr. Howell says READ THIS BOOK: the immortal Herman Melville, MOBY DICK (1851). I'm only about a third of the way through, and it ain't light reading. But holy crap: it pays you back. Penetrating, lyrical, and surprisingly hilarious.
Finally read #TejuCole's Open City (2011) & this passage, along with others referencing #Said, #Benjamin, #Didion, #Melville, #Coetzee, about plagues really stood out : "I read somewhere recently that the city of Leiden lost thirty-five percent of its population in a five-year period in the 1630s. What could it mean to live with such a possibility, with people of all ages dropping dead around you all the time? The thing is we have no idea" (200-201).
You know when you reread a book and the main character is doing something awful and you just wish she would do something different than what you know she is going to do? Well, that was me rereading #EdithWharton's #HouseOfMirth. To riff on the end of #Melville's #Bartleby: Ah Lily!, Ah humanity!
Dayswork, by Chris Bachelder and Jennifer Habel. You are a writer fascinated with Melvillians and the many biographers of the famous author and the ways their own lives, and marriages may all be echoing each other across the centuries. 4 of 5 library cats 🐈 🐈 🐈 🐳. @bookstodon#bookstodon#reading#melville#books#mobydick#marriage
Today in Labor History November 20, 1820: An 80-ton sperm whale attacked and sunk the Essex, a whaling ship from Nantucket, Massachusetts. The tragedy occurred off the western coast of South America. 7 members of the 20-man crew died at sea, as they attempted to make land in the lifeboats. Survivors ate their dead comrades to stay alive. The story inspired Herman Melville to write his 1851 novel Moby-Dick. And it inspired modern day orcas to organize and fight back to reclaim the seas from humans.
Working on sound design for The Love Talker today, and I got a new instrument from Pianobook: "Poseidon's Pull." It's this amazing sample of the ocean, the creaking of ship's ropes, more. I added a little pad and some spoken words which are from Laurie Anderson by way of Shakespeare, The Book of Job, and Herman Melville.
Think of it as a teaser for a non-existent audio drama.
Today in Writing History August 1, 1819: Herman Melville was born. He was one of the greatest American writers of all time. The death of his merchant father in 1832 left his family destitute. So, he became a merchant seaman, having many of the same brutal and exploitative experiences other seamen had in those days. Rum, sodomy and the lash! Consequently, he jumped ship in the Marquesas and lived with the local indigenous people. His first two books, “Typee” and “Omoo,” were about these experiences. His two greatest stories of all time, “Billy Budd,” and “Moby Dick,” were also influenced by his experiences as a seaman.
Melville also explored a variety of sexual themes in his writing, including homosexuality, celibacy, incest and impotence. Though his most famous works involve nearly all-male casts, he does explore the exploitation of women in “The Tartarus of Maids.” Homosexuality, in particular, was a common theme in many of his stories (e.g., Typee, Omoo, Redburn, Moby Dick, Billy Budd). Indeed, it is commonly believed that he was either gay or bisexual. He had a wife and kids, as well as long, romantic relationship with Nathaniel Hawthorne.
"(...) Immer wenn ich merke, daß ich um den Mund herum grimmig werde; immer wenn in meiner Seele nasser, niesliger November herrscht; immer wenn ich merke, daß ich vor Sarglagern stehen bleibe und jedem Leichenzug hinter hertrotte, der mir begegnet; und besonders immer dann,wenn meine schwarze Galle so sehr überhand nimmt, daß nur starke moralische Grundsätze mich davon abhalten können, mit Vorsatz auf die Straße zu treten und den Leuten mit Bedacht die Hüte vom Kopf zu hauen - dann ist es höchste Zeit für mich, so bald ich kann auf See zu kommen. Das ist mein Ersatz für Pistole und Kugel. (...)"
Herman #Melville, (1. August 1819 – 28. September 1891) aus: Moby-Dick oder der Wal, 1851
"Il est des entreprises dans lesquelles un méticuleux désordre est la seule vraie méthode." Hermann #Melville, "Moby Dick ou le cachalot", trad Philippe Jaworski, Quarto @Gallimard, chapitre 82. #litterature