Melville biography : an inside narrative
Hershel Parker (Author)
This book includes a mesmerizing autobiographical account of what went into creating the Herman Melville: A Biography. Then Parker traces six decades of the "unholy war" waged against biographical scholarship, in which critics repeatedly imposed the theory of organic unity on Melville's disrupted life- not just on his writings- while truncating his body of work and ignoring his study of art and aesthetics. Parker celebrates discoveries made by "divine amateurs" and praises writers of litblogs as potential redeemers of anemic, partisan reviewing in academic journals, and the mainstream media. Finally, Parker throws open his biographical workshop and challenges ambitious readers with research projects -- Provided by publisher
Print Book, English, 2012
Northwestern University Press, Evanston, Ill., 2012