It happens so often ~ a scientist/artist/writer whose genius is recognized only decades after his/her death. Such was the case with Herman Melville (1819-1891), whose Moby-Dick has just made it to the big screen (again) in In the Heart of the Sea (well, technically, this movie is an adaptation of a book based on the same real-life events that inspired Melville to write his book). His story could be either an inspirational or a depressing one for aspiring scientists/artists/writers, but either way, it's an interesting one. Life had been pretty good to Herman Melville for a long time, but that changed with his publication, more than 150 years ago, of the story of a sea captain's obsessive search for a gigantic sperm whale. Both author and book were roundly panned or ignored by critics and the reading public ~ and one could say that it was all the fault of fellow writer Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864; The Scarlet Letter, The House of Seven Gables). Be that as it may, Melville was sure that, eventually, his novel would get the praise and fame he knew it deserved. He saw what some would have called a failure as proof of his success as a writer, saying, "He who has never failed somewhere, that man cannot be great": http://mentalfloss.com/article/56372/101-masterpieces-moby-dick
No comments:
Post a Comment