Every day brings a new story. And each day contributes to story telling -- in prose and in poetry, in art and in music, on the stage, on the screen, and, of course, in books.
Today is the story of Aug. 1st
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It is the 213th day of the year, leaving 152 days remaining in 2022
He told stories, often exaggerated, based upon his experiences sailing the oceans. But his most long-lasting tales were much simpler: one about a man chasing and killing a whale (the novel, Moby-Dick) the second about a man sentenced to hang for a murder aboard a ship (Billy Budd, Sailor, an unfinished novella found years after Melville's death), and the third, a short story about a man who hates his job (Bartleby the Scrivener).
Melville came to being a writer in a roundabout way. He was born into a family of privilege, wealth, and prestige -- both his grandfathers were Revolutionary War heroes -- but when his father died, the family fell into poverty and had several fallings out. Melville attended various schools and worked at several jobs, wandering around the United States.
He eventually took a position on a sailing ship to the South Seas, ending up in what is now Polynesia. The tale Melville told, somewhat embellished, is that he and a companion spend months on a island with a group of cannibals. It became his first novel, Typee. His second novel, Omoo, was a sequel.
He continued a life of writing, wandering, and working odd jobs. By the 1850s, he became friendly with the author Nathaniel Hawthorne, and inspired and enamored by the older writer's work, starting writing Moby-Dick.
The novel received positive reviews in Britain and the United States, but never reached the wide acclaim it now has until after Melville's death. It is considered one of the country's great novels.
Melville died in 1891.
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