ANNOUNCING
Pequod Poems: Gamming
with Moby-Dick
by Wilda Morris
(Aldridge Press, an
imprint of Kelsay Books,
2019).
What they are saying about Pequod Poems:
One doesn’t have to be a literary scholar to deeply admire and enjoy Wilda Morris’s “Pequod Poems: Gamming with Moby Dick”—a brilliant compendium of literary insight, criticism, historical research, and especially her skillfully written poems. Among the many delights of the latter are reflections narrated by some of Melville’s most unforgettable characters—Ishmael, Queequeg, Starbuck, and Ahab himself, of course—as well as by members of Melville’s memorable supporting cast that includes Pip, Stubb, the Maltese sailor, and a salty host of others, along with confidences from Ahab’s and Starbuck’s distant wives. Morris also reveals her impressive mastery of poetic forms: the sonnet, the sestina, the rondeau, and—somewhat surprisingly, in this context—a wide range of newer, more obscure forms such as the Golden Shovel, the erasure poem, and the lipogram. Suffice to say that whether it’s erudition you’re seeking, or poetic virtuosity, or simply an imaginative retelling of a phenomenally good story, you’ll find yourself rewarded by taking a close look at Wilda Morris’s remarkable Pequod Poems.
~ Marilyn L. Taylor, Ph.D., Wisconsin
Poet Laureate Emerita
"Wilda
Morris' Pequod Poems is a stunning
and deeply imagined collection. Employing both traditional and invented
forms, Morris creates a rich sonic and linguistic world in which Melville's
characters explore their complex lives and reveal to us our own."
~ Justen Ahren, Poet Laureate of Martha’s
Vineyard and author of A Strange
Catechism
Whether
or not you've read Moby-Dick, Wilda Morris's book is a wonderful
companion. Like Melville's masterpiece, it is formally adventurous, deeply
entertaining, both funny and philosophical--and redolent of the sea. I
learned things about Moby-Dick, about language, and about the human
condition from these fine poems
~
Will Hansen, Director of Reader
Services and Curator of Americana and facilitator of adult education classes on
Moby-Dick, Newberry Library, Chicago
How this book came to
be:
I
made the mistake of not taking any literature courses in college. A decade or
two ago, I decided to fill in some gaps in my education—mostly by listening to
CDs while driving. I listened to Anna Karenina,
The Heart of Darkness, Tom Sawyer, and other “classic” novels. I
found a recording of Moby-Dick at my
public library and started my long voyage with Herman Melville.
Finding
many quotable lines, I was entranced by his use of language. I began copying
sentences I especially liked into a notebook. Over the next few years, I took a
course on Moby-Dick at The Newberry
Library in Chicago—and signed up for a repeat a couple of years later. I
listened to Moby-Dick on CD again
(and again), absorbing a bit more each time. And
becoming
more and more convinced of the relevance of Moby-Dick for our time.
I
wrote poems about the characters and plot. I wrote poems responding to and
contemporizing quotes from the book. And I memos to Melville, sometimes asking
questions I wish I could ask him in person. I wrote a few poems about Melville
himself. With the help of poet friends, I revised and edited, and culled out
poems that didn’t seem quite good enough.
How to Purchase Pequod Poems:
There
are three ways to order this new book:
1)
If you want an autographed copy, email me at wildamorris[at]Ameritech[dot]net
(replace the [a] with @ and the [dot] with a period) and I’ll tell you where to
send a check for $20, which will cover the cost of the book, plus shipping and
handling.
2)
Purchase through the publisher website at https://kelsaybooks.com/products/pequod-poems-gamming-with-moby-dick.
3)
Purchase via amazon.com at https://smile.amazon.com/s?k=pequod+poems+morris&crid=1DRC0B3DKGR5Q&sprefix=Pequod%2Caps%2C173&ref=nb_sb_ss_i_2_6.
Email
me if you have any questions.
