Tag Archives: Herman Melville

The Great American Novel ?

Posted on October 19, 2021 by Brian D. Butler

During this week in 1851, Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick was first published as The Whale in three volumes by Richard Bentley in London. Almost one month later in November, the first American edition was published in New York by Harper & Brothers. Although many think of … Continue reading →

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I would prefer not to

Posted on October 14, 2021 by Brian D. Butler

Writer Clive Thompson has created and shared a new online tool allows you to visualize any piece of writing by stripping away everything but its punctuation. His free web tool—”just the punctuation”—allows you can paste in any piece of text … Continue reading →

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All is vanity

Posted on March 24, 2020 by Brian D. Butler

“Herman Melville” by W.H. Auden Towards the end he sailed into an extraordinary mildness, And anchored in his home and reached his wife And rode within the harbour of her hand, And went each morning to an office As though … Continue reading →

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American Voyageur

Posted on October 11, 2019 by Brian D. Butler

Few American writers have achieved the cultural impact of Herman Melville, author of the eternal classic Moby-Dick, yet he died unrecognized by his contemporaries for his genius. To commemorate the 200th anniversary of Melville’s birth, Philadelphia’s Rosenbach Museum and Library has … Continue reading →

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Happy 200th Herman

Posted on June 19, 2019 by Brian D. Butler

With all of the hullabaloo about local literary star Walt Whitman’s 200th anniversary celebrations, I completely missed the fact that it is also the 200th birthday of Herman Melville. To celebrate the anniversary, Chronicle Books has published this splendid pop-up … Continue reading →

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Pierre; or, The Ambiguities

Posted on August 19, 2018 by Brian D. Butler

To be perfectly honest, I have always been ambivalent about Herman Melville. When I read Moby-Dick in high school, I found it to be an uneven slog. However, his iconic short story Bartleby the Scrivener provided me with a role model for life. The … Continue reading →

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Call Me Ishmael

Posted on November 12, 2015 by Brian D. Butler

I rarely endorse Kickstarter projects, but Call Me Ishmael is a worthy literary project that deserves attention. Honored by the National Book Foundation with the Innovations in Reading Prize, Call Me Ishmael has already surpassed its modest Kickstarter goal. Inspired … Continue reading →

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Literary gifs

Posted on September 3, 2015 by Brian D. Butler

Santiago, Chile-based art director Javier Jensen has a whale of a time creating understated book cover gifs. Look closely.

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Back to basics

Posted on March 24, 2015 by Brian D. Butler

Visitors to the U.S. are often shocked to discover that we have only one truly nationwide bookstore chain remaining. That company, Barnes & Noble, has just 700 stores unevenly spread around the country. The past few years, B&N has strayed … Continue reading →

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A book is an object fixed in time

Posted on February 28, 2015 by Brian D. Butler

Over at the Design Observer, librarian/curator/writer Timothy Young offers a damn good list of ten reasons why the printed book still matters. Here’s a stripped down version (see below) of the list. If you’re inclined, check out the fully unexpurgated … Continue reading →

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