Iconography: Moby Dick

Today is the anniversary of the publication of Moby Dick, the challenging and seminal seafaring novel by Herman Melville. The past few days, I have been devouring interviews by recent MacArthur genius grant recipient Junot Diaz, which are rich not only with his sage offerings on the acts of writing and of reading and their implications in our contemporary geopolitical milieu, but with incredible book recommendations. Then, prior to leaving on vacation to South Africa, the filmmaker surprised me with a quaint and ancient illustrated book on whaling, rescued from the bowels of the local library, destined for the garbage. This sequence appears to be a synchronicity, an alignment of cosmic intellectual forces; I have never read Moby Dick, and have always intended to. I have, after all, been on a grand hunt, for something I am not sure I can articulate; inspiration and ambition and satiation are always welcome.

(image taken from Wreck Watch)