1819-1891
Biography
Though the American writer Herman Melville (1819-1891) is most famous for his visionary novel Moby-Dick, he was also a poet of great distinction. Born in New York City, Melville’s life changed in 1841 when he took a job working for over a year on a whaler ship that sailed from Massachusetts to the South Pacific. His obsession with the sea’s menace and mystery is displayed in the poem “The Maldive Shark”.