Happy Birthday, Herman Melville. You had some experiences and wrote about them but you didn't just do an autofiction you got some WHALE FACTS and did some METAPHORS and REFERENCES and also MARITIME SEXUAL INNUENDOS 👑

In my research I have discovered that a shocking number of whale ship disasters can be traced back to communication issues between captain and first mate.

Melville scholar here. Show some respect. Some men never get to pose with their fish 😞

Always kind of funny that some people’s reaction to seeing a bedraggled middle aged man wearing 80lbs of purple felt is “congratulations”

"The Last Algorithm" as a ChatGPT summer read hallucination is incredible. Real ''the tiny LLMs we know to be small' vibes.

F everything and come see me Nate talk about Pym in July! Harvard bookstore. Embrace your inner Penguin! (Link below)

Trying out some new syllabus guidelines.

Top 5 best feelings as a man 1) squeezing colaborer’s hand in a vat of spermaceti 2) the physical touch of a cannibal 3) someone yelling “thar she blows” 4) when a team’s various wheels fit its captain’s one cogged circle 5) first quaff from a harpoon socket What am I missing?

I thought God’s agreement with Maine was that our waters are painfully cold but free of anything with this much tentacle.

I was reading this book that says that the whiteness of the whale becomes like a blank canvas on which man projects his own desires

No. Please do not appropriate classic American literature for your real estate listing!!! (Unless you’re quoting House of the Seven Gables bc your property has a tortured roof line / is haunted by the crimes of your most repulsive ancestor.)

everyone's talking about the dashing Bowdoin grad with great hair who got interested in socialism and later gained a position in local government

One month from today! On 7/28 come celebrate the gorgeous new Smith & Taylor Classics edition of Poe's PYM by hearing me and Joseph Rezek talk about Poe's PYM! And why not buy a copy since it includes a lively conversational afterword wherein me and Joseph Rezek talk about Poe's PYM!

Happy pub day to Smith & Taylor Classics edition of Poe’s NARRATIVE OF ARTHUR GORDON PYM — featuring an afterword by me & Joseph Rezek! And pls join us at Harvard Bookstore on Monday where we will continue the conversation and I will reveal the next iteration of my thematic hairdo.

Great time with Nate Wolff last night talking to tons of people about Poe’s PYM

Wrong. Proud manner is good. The only problem is people employ the phrase too broadly as “thing I want.” It should be reserved for the specific animal you hate.