The Poems of Herman Melville - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0873386604 ISBN 13: 9780873386609

Publisher: The Kent State University Press, 2000

Synopsis

Unlike his fiction, which has been popular and often reprinted, Melville’s poetry remains obscure. The last “collected poems” appeared in 1947 and “selected poems” in the 1970s, and only two books dealing exclusively with Melville’s poetry have appeared, both published in the 1970s. In this revised edition of his Poems of Herman Melville, Douglas Robillard updates the scholarship on the poetry through his introduction and notes and makes a case for revised estimate of the importance of Melville as a poet. The Poems of Herman Melville contains entire texts of “Battle-Pieces” (1866), “John Marr and Other Sailors” (1888), and “Timoleon” (1891). Selected cantos from “Clarel” are reprinted with accompanying notes and commentary.

About this title

About the Author

Douglas Robillard (1928–2012) served for 26 years at the University of New Haven, variously as English department chair, dean, and library director. He is the author of Melville and the Visual Arts: Ionian Form, Venetian Tint (Kent State University Press, 1997) and editor of The Poems of Herman Melville (Kent State University Press, 2000) and a facsimile edition of Melville’s John Marr and Other Sailors, with Some Sea-Pieces (Kent State University Press, 2006).

Reviews

This collection of poetry is edited by Melville scholar Robillard, author of the book-length study Melville and the Visual Arts as well as a number of periodical articles. It presents the complete texts of "Battle-Pieces," "John Marr and Other Sailors," and "Timoleon," as well as additional manuscript poems. Also presented are excerpts from the long narrative poem Clarel to give the reader a taste of the style and content of this work. The editor's introduction, as well as his notes at the end of each section, are informative as well as appreciative of Melville's status as a poet. The reader who admires the writer's novels will discover that, especially in the Civil War and sea poems, Melville was as adept in poetry as he was in prose. The forthcoming Northwestern-Newberry volume of poetry in its collected works of the author will eventually replace all other editions, but until that comes out the reader will find this collection to be a good introduction to the craft of Melville the poet. Recommended for all library collections, especially those that lack a selection of this writer's poetry.DMorris Hounion New York City Technical Coll. Lib., Brooklyn
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: The Kent State University Press
• Publication date: 2000
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0873386604
• ISBN 13: 9780873386609
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 368
• Editor: Robillard Douglas