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A Whaler's Dictionary
From one of the nation’s most dynamic and celebrated young poets, an extended dialogue with the greatest masterpiece of American literature, Moby-Dick . Taking its inspiration—and, for that matter, its form—from Ishmael’s abandoned “Cetological Dictionary” in Moby-Dick , this extraordinary, highly original work brings meditations on myth, representation, language, nature, consciousness, and notions of spiritual quest into constantly new relations. From “Accuracy” to “Wound,” from “Adam” to “Void,” and from “Babel” to “Silence,” the cross-referential, highly associative entries make up an utterly singular work of art. For fans of Beachy-Quick’s acclaimed collections of poems, for the legions of Melville fanatics among us, and indeed for anyone who regards reading as an unconditional, encompassing obsession, A Whaler’s Dictionary is absolutely essential.
224 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 2008
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284 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
February 6, 2019
beachy-quick goes out of his way to say his book, like the attempted whale-dictionary in moby-dick, is by its very nature a failure, both humble and audacious. sort of an irritating note to start with, but i'm into the premise: beachy-quick, a poet, couldn't stop reading moby-dick for ten years, according to this self-mythologizing. one of the ways he wrote himself "out" of moby-dick was to write a bunch of little fragmenty essays, which sort of stand alone and sort of don't. they're smart and sharp but also ... boring and haughty and very stiff. this is a cool project in the abstract. but in practice it is not at all my bag.
he says not to even think about reading the book straight through, but to flip through until some part of it grabs you. so i left it on my toilet tank for a month and picked it up a few times a week and wandered around the apartment reading. it definitely isn't fun to read straight through, i'll confirm that much.
he says not to even think about reading the book straight through, but to flip through until some part of it grabs you. so i left it on my toilet tank for a month and picked it up a few times a week and wandered around the apartment reading. it definitely isn't fun to read straight through, i'll confirm that much.
May 11, 2020
Neither a true dictionary, nor quite a book of literary criticism, this strange collection is guided by wonder, and thus a worthy companion to Moby Dick. By the author’s own direction, it is not meant to be read cover to cover, but picked through as feels right.
Want to read
August 8, 2013What the shit, the Milkweed edition of this just arrived, and it's very pretty, but it's got this list of supporters in the back with STORE LOGOS! It's like watching PBS and seeing the "Brought to you by...." The NEA, McKnight Foundation, and TARGET. What is Target doing in my book? Is reading 330 pomo pages about Ishmael supposed to make me rush out and get a harpoon there or something?
bought
September 29, 2009i bet i call this "luminous"
August 28, 2014
Unreadable and pretentious. Stick to Moby-Dick; ignore A Whaler's Dictionary.
March 21, 2024
An astonishing work about an astonishing work. I can understand some of the criticisms I see of this book--namely, that it is pretentious. But I think in that criticism there is a strange shaming of the act of exploration, of attempting to create something that grasps at the profound while seeking to understand a work that is also, impossibly, grasping at the profound. I do think there's some truth in the idea that some connections feel forced, or overly-deep, or overly-referential, but I don't see this as a flaw of the work. If anything, swinging this hard in an effort to wrest meaning from Moby Dick is as thematically close to the source text as one could be--a white whale for an author obsessed by the white whale.
This book is best used as a sort of accompaniment to Moby Dick rather than a standalone text. Read a little, then have a flip here and there in the Whaler's Dictionary and see what sticks. Unlike more traditional books or works of literary criticism, I feel that this book benefits from a "take what you like, leave what you don't" approach, where you sort of bounce back and forth and lock in on the things that feel right to you. I have enjoyed referencing this book and I feel it has deepened my appreciation for Moby Dick, and provided me with some interpretations and insights I probably never would have thought of.
It's not for everyone. But I would encourage folks to approach it more abstractly and with the expectation that some of it will seem right, some of it will seem wrong, and some of it will seem, as people have said, pretentious. Whether you and I and anyone else agree on which is which, however, is probably the magic.
This book is best used as a sort of accompaniment to Moby Dick rather than a standalone text. Read a little, then have a flip here and there in the Whaler's Dictionary and see what sticks. Unlike more traditional books or works of literary criticism, I feel that this book benefits from a "take what you like, leave what you don't" approach, where you sort of bounce back and forth and lock in on the things that feel right to you. I have enjoyed referencing this book and I feel it has deepened my appreciation for Moby Dick, and provided me with some interpretations and insights I probably never would have thought of.
It's not for everyone. But I would encourage folks to approach it more abstractly and with the expectation that some of it will seem right, some of it will seem wrong, and some of it will seem, as people have said, pretentious. Whether you and I and anyone else agree on which is which, however, is probably the magic.
April 12, 2025
Too bad, the way the reviews read I was expecting an exciting, recursive dictionary that functions as an autodidact treatment of Moby Dick.
Instead it was a little sleepy, trotted out some tired observations about Babel, Plato, yadda yadda. The connection back to Moby Dick was a little strained.
I honestly figure most people who like the dictionary didn’t read Moby Dick. It’s all very pleasant book chat, but the chit chat hardly glances all the topics it wants to take on. 400 words on this or that, sort of repeats itself around 200 pages in
e.g.: ‘what if the Tower of Babel was like a mast, and looked outwards instead of upwards?’ A: a mast was on the boat in Moby Dick.
‘What if Ahab was like King Ahab in the Bible?’ A: that’s how it’s described.
‘Are the whalers are like Picasso, creating art by revealing it from the medium?’ A: that’s how it’s described.
To be clear, I’m not providing the answer: this book answers its own modest questions on and on. It’s fine, but rather sleepy work for 300+ pages
Instead it was a little sleepy, trotted out some tired observations about Babel, Plato, yadda yadda. The connection back to Moby Dick was a little strained.
I honestly figure most people who like the dictionary didn’t read Moby Dick. It’s all very pleasant book chat, but the chit chat hardly glances all the topics it wants to take on. 400 words on this or that, sort of repeats itself around 200 pages in
e.g.: ‘what if the Tower of Babel was like a mast, and looked outwards instead of upwards?’ A: a mast was on the boat in Moby Dick.
‘What if Ahab was like King Ahab in the Bible?’ A: that’s how it’s described.
‘Are the whalers are like Picasso, creating art by revealing it from the medium?’ A: that’s how it’s described.
To be clear, I’m not providing the answer: this book answers its own modest questions on and on. It’s fine, but rather sleepy work for 300+ pages
May 14, 2023
Herman Melville’s Moby Dick is my favorite book. Dan Beachy-Quick’s A Whaler’s Dictionary— which includes entries on Plato, Profit and Prophet but not an entry for Pretentious, which defines the entire undertaking— may be my least favorite.
October 1, 2019
Probably the only Dictionary I will ever read cover to cover. Absolutely brilliant.
April 23, 2016
"A book is a silence that speaks.
A book is a silence we speak for, because it cannot speak itself."
Poet Dan Beachy-Quick spends over 200 pages writing what is really a love letter to Melville's novel, Moby Dick. This love letter, however, is ostensibly in the form of a dictionary...but a more poetic, meditative and philosophical dictionary than you would expect. He relies heavily on Martin Buber's great religious treatise-I and Thou-as a lens with which to explore the endless depths of Melville's genius. Here is a taste of just some of Beachy-Quick's reflections:
"What is most horrific in Ahab is not his madness, his boundless hate, but his refusal to dwell in the actuality of the world. For him all appearance is a mask he must strike through in order to find the unseen axis of the world, the face behind a face, the agency behind all action."
"A sentence describes the world, and in describing, shapes how we see it. Aesthetic language teaches us to see at the same time it attempts to reveal to us what we see. Aesthetics masks the world in a revealing light."
"...our efforts to read the world are always obstructed by the world's giving us back ourselves as the problem."
"Ahab is a man wounded by a whale who seems immortal. To be wounded by such a creature is not to receive a mortal wound so much as it is to receive an immortal one...That Moby Dick removed Ahab's leg is far less a loss than the wound the whale opened in Ahab's nonbodied self. Ahab is a leaky vessel, not taking on water but leaking as a barrel of oil...He is leaking essence; he is leaking soul."
Milkweed Editions publishes lovely books. This one is no exception.
A book is a silence we speak for, because it cannot speak itself."
Poet Dan Beachy-Quick spends over 200 pages writing what is really a love letter to Melville's novel, Moby Dick. This love letter, however, is ostensibly in the form of a dictionary...but a more poetic, meditative and philosophical dictionary than you would expect. He relies heavily on Martin Buber's great religious treatise-I and Thou-as a lens with which to explore the endless depths of Melville's genius. Here is a taste of just some of Beachy-Quick's reflections:
"What is most horrific in Ahab is not his madness, his boundless hate, but his refusal to dwell in the actuality of the world. For him all appearance is a mask he must strike through in order to find the unseen axis of the world, the face behind a face, the agency behind all action."
"A sentence describes the world, and in describing, shapes how we see it. Aesthetic language teaches us to see at the same time it attempts to reveal to us what we see. Aesthetics masks the world in a revealing light."
"...our efforts to read the world are always obstructed by the world's giving us back ourselves as the problem."
"Ahab is a man wounded by a whale who seems immortal. To be wounded by such a creature is not to receive a mortal wound so much as it is to receive an immortal one...That Moby Dick removed Ahab's leg is far less a loss than the wound the whale opened in Ahab's nonbodied self. Ahab is a leaky vessel, not taking on water but leaking as a barrel of oil...He is leaking essence; he is leaking soul."
Milkweed Editions publishes lovely books. This one is no exception.
May 16, 2011
a fun concept well-executed. this book treats themes and concepts that beachy-quick found provocative in MOBY DICK and gives them lyrically philosophical "dictionary" entries. i have my doubts about the ability of this book to stand up on its own, so if you haven't read the tale of the great white whale, be forewarned.
May 15, 2009
It can be refreshing when a writer suggests a potential reader read as much or as little of a book as s/he desires. This book's chapters can each easily stand alone because the prose is so beautiful and the truths so insightful. I now want to read Moby Dick!
September 6, 2009
The idea of creating the Whaler's Dictionary that Ishmael wanted to write is brilliant. Some brilliant lines, worthy of the inspiration, Moby Dick. I underlined, which I haven't done since college.
The book is also beautifully designed, a pleasure to keep.
The book is also beautifully designed, a pleasure to keep.
August 10, 2010
I'm sure this book probably deserves more stars but parts were way over my head, so I can not be a judge. There are some great exerts in it that I do understand and the layout is clever (written as a dictionary) and generally I liked feeling like I was still submerged in Moby Dick.
April 8, 2012
An amazing book for poets, novelists, readers who are intrigued by how language works, writers who are interested in how story becomes myth and how poetry transcends boundaries. Beachy-Quick's work is brilliant and a book be read and re-read. I returned to Moby Dick again.
Want to read
September 27, 2008This looks really interesting, especially since Moby-Dick is one of my favorites.
Currently reading
November 5, 2008currently reading--
December 16, 2009
brilliant!
December 19, 2014
This is one of the sweetest, thinkiest books I've read in a long time ... and it took me a long time to read it. Now I want to start it again.
November 11, 2008
New friend Jesse Paddock would enjoy this.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews