A Whaler's Dictionary
by Dan Beachy-Quick
Taking its inspiration—and, for that matter, its form—from Ishmael’s abandoned “Cetological Dictionary” in Moby-Dick, this extraordinary, highly original work brings meditations on myth, representation, language, nature, consciousness, and notions of spiritual quest into constantly new relations. From “Accuracy” to “Wound,” from “Adam” to “Void,” and from “Babel” to “Silence,” the cross-referential, highly associative entries make up an utterly singular work of art. For fans of Beachy-Quick’s acclaimed collections of poems, for the legions of Melville fanatics among us, and indeed for anyone who regards reading as an unconditional, encompassing obsession, A Whaler’s Dictionary is absolutely essential.
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Author's Bio:Dan Beachy-Quick is one of the most acclaimed young poets in America today. He is the author of three collections of poems: Mulberry (Tupelo Press, 2006), Spell (Ahsata Press, 2004), and North True South Bright (Alice James Books, 2003). Mulberry was a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Award for poetry. His poems, criticism, and essays have been widely published in magazines and reviews, and frequently anthologized. A graduate of the Iowa Writer’s Workshop, Dan Beachy-Quick is an Associate Professor of Literature and Creative Writing at Colorado State University. He lives in Fort Collins, Colorado, with his wife and daughter.
Quotes:“Submerged within Moby-Dick lurks an unfinished dictionary, specific to the science and art of whaling. Ishmael attempts to classify and define every whale a whaler may encounter. The effort is more touching than pedantic. Whales, of course, pose a great problem to the would-be lexicographer: they are always diving down. One might as well define evanescence by noting the horizon line.
A Whaler’s Dictionary does not finish Ishmael’s cetalogical endeavor—it simply repeats the failure in a different guise.” Dan Beachy-Quick, on writing A Whaler’s Dictionary
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Price:
$ 18.00
Binding: Paperback
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Publisher: Milkweed Editions
Published: 2008
Size: 6 x 8
Pages: 224 pp
ISBN: 9781571313096
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