The Lure of Blankness in Bartleby t... Nov 13, 2009
The lure of blankness exists in three paradigms in Herman Melville's "Bartleby the Scrivener": Bartleby, the narrator, and the reader/critic. The narrator of Herman Melville s Bartleby the Scrivener recounts his experience with Bartleby, a former employee who remains a fascinating enigma. (Suite101.com)
"Bartleby the Scrivener" and Silent... Nov 13, 2009
The narrator of Herman Melville s Bartleby the Scrivener relates his experience with Bartleby, a former employee who remains an unforgettable mystery. Bartleby answers most requests by stating he would prefer not to, soon demonstrating his lack of preferences and unswerving devotion to inaction. (Suite101.com)
‘American Fantastic Tales’ collects best stuff that bad dreams are made of Oct 18, 2009
Herman Melville s The Tartarus of Maids, Stephen Crane s The Black Dog, F. Scott Fitzgerald s The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, John Cheever s Torch Song, and Tennessee Williams s The Mysteries of the Joy Rio all open harrowing portals into their authors inner worlds. Aside from idiosyncratic preoccupations, what is the impulse behind American horror writing. (Boston Globe)
At last, Poe gets a fitting send-off Oct 10, 2009
Of all the great classical American writers of the 19th century - Herman Melville, Henry David Thoreau, Nathaniel Hawthorne to name but three - Poe had the most hapless existence. Poor Edgar Allan Poe; of them all he was the poorest; his life was very precarious,'' Mr Rachman said. (Sydney Morning Herald -- Entertainment)
Harvard buys Updike archive Oct 7, 2009
The archive is so extensive because Updike was not only prolific, he also was a perfectionist, said Leslie Morris, curator of modern books and manuscripts at Houghton Library, which also houses the papers of Ralph Waldo Emerson, Emily Dickinson, Herman Melville, T.S. Eliot, and Edward Hoagland, a classmate of Updike s.. Updike, a longtime resident of Beverly Farms, was disciplined and usually wrote for three hours every day. (Boston Globe)
Awaiting the gay studies revolution Oct 5, 2009
Literature courses will be enriched by studying gay themes in the work of authors such as William Shakespeare, E.M. Forster, Virginia Woolf, and Herman Melville. In addition to reinterpreting the classics, contemporary literature such as Annie Proulx s Brokeback Mountain and Michael Cunningham s The Hours merit inclusion within college classrooms. (Boston Globe)
Jones River Writers: Joan Lyons Oct 3, 2009
She has many favorite authors including Herman Melville, Dan Brown, and a treasured local author, Doris Johnson. Loading commenting interface. (Kingston Mariner, MA)
What pops up when you put someone's music on random Sep 18, 2009
I try to base my sense of self on hanging with my friends and doing the laundry, says Herman Melville s great-great-grand-nephew (hence the nickname), who performs at House of Blues next Thursday. Here is an annotated list of Moby s randomly generated Top Ten. (Boston Globe)
Making history. Or not. Sep 8, 2009
After offering up a shaky analogy between Moby-Dick and Bob Hope s comic Road to Utopia, Marcus says of Herman Melville s novel: The book is the sea we swim in. I can see this book selling a few copies, alongside such other successful, unread masterworks as Harold Bloom s The Western Canon, or Stephen Greenblatt s Will in the World. (Boston Globe)
A fishing Buddy for Obama? Aug 26, 2009
He s been fishing these waters for most of his 58 years, and he s not the first in his family to land a big one: Vanderhoop s great uncle, Amos Smalley, was the Wampanoag whaler who harpooned the White Whale believed to be Herman Melville s Moby-Dick. Buddy just seems to have a sense about where the fish are, says his wife, Lisa, a photographer on the island. (Boston Globe)
Richard Poirier; literary critic and writer who founded Library of America Aug 22, 2009
With grants from the Ford Foundation and the National Endowment for the Humanities, the nonprofit venture began publishing in May 1982, with works by Herman Melville, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Harriet Beecher Stowe, and Walt Whitman. Nearly 200 volumes collecting the works of Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Mark Twain, Willa Cather, William Faulkner, James Baldwin, Philip Roth, and other writers have been published to date. (Boston Globe)
George Bluestone, pioneer in cinema studies; at 80 Aug 6, 2009
Dr. Bluestone also produced and directed Bartleby, a film adaptation of a Herman Melville short story. Natalie Harris first spotted Dr. Bluestone in a hallway at Johns Hopkins University when both were graduate students. (Boston Globe)
Get Rid of August Aug 4, 2009
Raoul Wallenberg, Alfred Hitchcock, Herman Melville, and Mae West were born in August. Richard Nixon resigned in August. (Slate)
Moby-Dick marathon brings Melville to life Aug 3, 2009
Since 1985, the Mystic Seaport has celebrated the birthday of author Herman Melville by holding a 24-hour marathon reading of his classic opus, "Moby-Dick." Running from noon on July 31 to noon on Aug. 1 his actual birthday this year's marathon celebrated Melville's 190th birthday. Share your thoughts. (Westerly Sun, RI)
Literary ghost stories Aug 2, 2009
The early days are represented by Poe, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Herman Melville and Washington Irving. The Victorian and Edwardian eras bring Henry James, Edith Wharton, Ambrose Bierce and Charlotte Perkins Gilman. (Erie Times-News, PA)
61 postmodern reads Jul 25, 2009
Herman Melville, "Moby Dick" Boris Pasternak, "Dr. Zhivago" John Fowles, "The French Lieutenant's Woman". Posted by: otolythe. (Harper's Magazine)
Useless knowledge: Are you well read? Jul 17, 2009
Which story by Herman Melville tells the story of Ishmael and Captain Ahab aboard the Pequod. 19. (Montana Standard, MT)
Aqua Ducks a great way to appreciate Albany Jul 6, 2009
We heard about Legs Diamond and Herman Melville, famed Albany residents of bygone eras. And Albany was as eye-catching as ever, our fair city's numerous architectural assets, such as the state Capitol, postmodern Empire State Plaza and the Gothic State University of New York System Administration Building, overshadowing several dilapidated buildings also on display. (Albany Times Union)
Mom & Pop Whitman track down unicorns of the sea Jun 16, 2009
Famous author Herman Melville joked that it was a letter opener. Most scientists speculate that it is a secondary sex characteristic, like deers' antlers, useful in establishing dominance hierarchies. (Weymouth News, MA)
Ian M. Banks May 3, 2009
George Lucas, Alistair MacLean, Ken MacLeod, The Marx Brothers, Herman Melville, Sid Meier, Spike Milligan, Alan Moore (Watchmen and The Voice of the Fire), New Worlds magazine in its quarterly paperback incarnation between 1971 and 1975, Mervyn Peake (the Ghormenghast trilogy), various Plays For Today on BBC TV during the sixties (the only one I can remember the title of was, I think, called The Last Train Through the Harecastle Tunnel ) plus lots of TV in general - especially series like The... (Suite101.com)
Gorey exhibition combines humor and dread May 2, 2009
Gorey also illustrated works of other authors, including Herman Melville, and won a Tony for costume design for the 1978 revival of Dracula. Asked to assess his work four years before his death in 2000, he acknowledged an ardent little following but called himself only a very minor celebrity. (MSNBC -- News)
LETTER: Using Bible to denounce homosexuality is wrong Apr 29, 2009
The Question wrote on Apr 28, 2009 4:59 PM:" If you were to retroactively withdraw the accomplishments of gay people from history, you'd find yourself somewhere back in the Dark Ages, at least.Subtract the achievements of these: Alexander the Great, Socrates, Hadrian, Richard the Lionhearted, Edward II, Saladin, Francis Bacon, Frederick the Great, Byron, Walt Whitman, Oscar Wilde, Willa Cather, E.M. Forster, Tchaikovsky, Marcel Proust, Cole Porter, Leonard Bernstein, Julius Caesar, Pope Julius... (Mattoon Journal-Gazette, IL)
Buddy can you spare a Cheer Apr 10, 2009
The beautifully illustrated notes portray local "heroes", including the author Herman Melville and a tribe of Mohicans. "It reformed the way many business owners and residents thought about their local economy and helped educate the community on why shopping locally matters," said Susan Witt, a member of the BerkShares board. (Sydney Morning Herald -- World)
Actor found amusements in city Apr 2, 2009
Joel smokes a pipe, loves Russian literature and relates a story about how Herman Melville was identified in The New York Times as Henry Melville in his obituary. True, by the way. (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, PA)
Our Marriage Is All an Act Mar 19, 2009
Perhaps Herman Melville was anticipating Facebook when he wrote, "The poor old Past, the Future's slave." You may find your online network encouraging you to give the bullies of your poor old past a chance because they've probably reformed, or regret their behavior, or are oblivious about how they treated you. But your present, real-life friendship queue is full, and pretending to cheerily welcome contact from long-ago jerks is only going to stir up unnecessary pain. (Slate)
Poll reveals UK's reading secrets Mar 6, 2009
Many also admit to wrongly claiming to have read the classics, including authors Jane Austen, the Bronte sisters, Charles Dickens, Fyodor Dostoyevsky and Herman Melville. Most said they had lied to impress someone. (BBC News -- Entertainment)
Most Britons have lied about the books they read Mar 5, 2009
Aside from a list of ten titles which respondents were asked to tick or leave blank, many admitted wrongly claiming they had read other "classics" including Jane Austen, the Bronte sisters, Charles Dickens, Fyodor Dostoyevsky and Herman Melville. Asked why they had lied about reading a book, the main reason was to impress the person they were speaking to. (Yahoo News)
