The Dead Writers Club was born out of the fact that there are very few living writers out there that are worth reading. (Naturally, this is because we all yearn to live in the past)
Do you consistently feel as though you are living in the wrong time period? We do too.
This blog is a celebration of literature and the greats who wrote before us.
On September 28th in 1891, American author, Herman Melville passed away at the age of 72.
Melville is, of course, best remembered for his novel Moby Dick, or The Whale. But what you may not be as familiar with is his first work, Typee: A Peep at Polynesian Life, or Four Months’ Residence in a Valley of the Marquesas (1846), in which he described his escape from the cannibals! Melville worked in merchant shipping until 1844, documenting his unique seafaring travels all the while.
Though none of his other works ever reached the popularity as Moby Dick, they are still worth a read through. Particularly if you are a fan of realism, adventure tales and rich description. We can recommend Redburn, His Voyage (1849) and White-Jacket; or, The World in a Man-of-War (1850).
As for “The Whale”, it would be perfectly silly for us to express the significance of this book here. It is one of the ultimate classics of American Literature that has inspired popular fiction, music, fine art, poetry, theatre, advertising and film.
Today, we encourage you all to tell the biggest “whale tale” you can possibly imagine! And please remember this wonderfully expressive writer today and everyday!
Write on in peace, Mr. Melville!
Tags:
moby dick
herman melville
september 28
1891
dead writer
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On September 28th in 1891, American author, Herman Melville passed away at the age of 72.
Melville is, of course, best remembered for his novel Moby Dick, or The Whale. But what you may not be as familiar with is his first work, Typee: A Peep at Polynesian Life, or Four Months’ Residence in a Valley of the Marquesas (1846), in which he described his escape from the cannibals! Melville worked in merchant shipping until 1844, documenting his unique seafaring travels all the while.
Though none of his other works ever reached the popularity as Moby Dick, they are still worth a read through. Particularly if you are a fan of realism, adventure tales and rich description. We can recommend Redburn, His Voyage (1849) and White-Jacket; or, The World in a Man-of-War (1850).
As for “The Whale”, it would be perfectly silly for us to express the significance of this book here. It is one of the ultimate classics of American Literature that has inspired popular fiction, music, fine art, poetry, theatre, advertising and film.
Today, we encourage you all to tell the biggest “whale tale” you can possibly imagine! And please remember this wonderfully expressive writer today and everyday!
Write on in peace, Mr. Melville!
Tags:
herman melville,
happy,
moby dick,
deathday
dead writer
dead writers club
septemeber 28
1891
new york
merchant shipping
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In 1891, on November 10th, French poet and adventurer Arthur Rimbaud died at the age of 37 by what is presumed now to have been cancer though he was treated for tuberculosis, syphilis and arthritis.
Rimbaud’s work is moving, dark and can in some cases, only best be described as an open wound - sore, raw, exposed and vibrant. Some of our favorite works by Rimbaud include Une Saison en Enfer and Illuminations, although admittedly A Season in Hell (Une Saison en Enfer) is his most famous work.
By the time Rimbaud was nineteen years old, he had lived so voraciously and had experienced so much, with the help of poet Paul Verlaine, that he had become deeply disillusioned and determined to abandon Europe and literature altogether! It is quite remarkable that the deeply stirring poetry he is now so very renowned for was all written by age 19!
The poet truly led a fascinating life, both as a writer and after that, as a merchant in many exotic places. If you are interested in a great biography of this epic man, check out Rimbaud: A Biography by Graham Robb.
Today, we dare you to abandon all inhibitions and love deeply, dangerously and without doubt that you are remarkable! We like to think that is how Rimbaud is celebrating this day and every day in his eternal resting place.
Write on in peace, Monsieur Rimbaud!
Tags:
arthur rimbaud
november
10th
1891
French
France
poet
dead writers club
dead poet
Une Saison en Enfer
a season in hell
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On this day in 1891, Moby Dick writer Herman Melville died at the age of 72.
While Melville will always be legendary for his epic novel, Moby Dick, we feel it is important to point out some of his other work which is perhaps more obscure. If you’ve never read his early work, Omoo, A Narrative of Adventures in the South Seas, is a great one! It was published before Moby Dick in 1847. Another intriguing bit of writing came after Moby Dick in 1866, when Melville published a volume of poetry called Battle-Pieces and Aspects of the War.
His writings are extensive and often draw from personal experiences, which make reading them all the more interesting. Melville was a contemporary of Washington Irivng, Edgar Allan Poe and was said to be an intimate friend of Nathaniel Hawthorne.
FUN FACT: In 2010 a group of Moby Dick fans who happened to be paleontologists announced that they would be naming a new species of extinct giant sperm whale, which they had discovered fossilized, Livyatan melvillei, in honor of the famous author.
Today, we encourage you all to call us Ishmael and make an attempt at your very own “big fish tale”.
Write on in peace, Mr. Melville!
Tags:
Herman Melville
Moby Dick
September 28
1891
new york
novel
writer
deathday
dead writer
dead writers club
omoo
ishmael
whale
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