A Whaler's Dictionary

"A supple and well-read poet with a fine ear, Beachy-Quick has long studied — some might even say he has been obsessed with — Moby-Dick; his second (of three) books of verse, Spell (2004), wove references and passages from Melville's novel into poems. This much longer book of short prose essays responds in more straightforward ways: each of its two-to-three — page pieces takes up a topic from the lives and thoughts of Ahab, Ishmael and their crew (such as 'Vengeance,' 'Flame' and 'Fate') and reflects on it. Often the whale, and the book, represent the endlessness of all quests, our enduring hunger for the right, last word. Jewish philosophy and wisdom literature (Martin Buber, Emmanuel Levinas), other famous modern thinkers (Wittgenstein, Derrida) and Shakespeare's King Lear also guide Beachy-Quick's thoughts, while the rhythms of not only Melville but Emerson and Thoreau guide his resonant prose. The poet Charles Olson launched his own career with a book about Melville, and Beachy-Quick may have Olson in mind; he has certainly paid rapt attention to a world masterpiece. Yet that attention too often produces predictable arguments, ideas that many other readers of Melville will easily recognize, though Beachy-Quick's lyrical evocation may also give them new life: 'The whale is the wall behind which the universe mockingly lingers whole.'" Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

Poet Beachy-Quick has one thing in common with Captain Ahab; they are both obsessed with Moby Dick. Beachy-Quick exorcizes his obsession by creating his own "dictionary" of Melville's masterpiece, inspired by Ishmael's incomplete dictionary of whales. From "accuracy" to "you/thou" he wanders through Moby Dick selecting topics that resound to his own quest, as readers of the book have done since it first was published. Part poetry, part philosophy, part mysticism and even part literary exegesis, this book defies easy description, but invites perusal. Beachy-Quick suggests that the reader select topics according to interest or whim, rather than reading it straight through. He also provides cross-references, often a form of poetry in themselves. Annotation ©2009 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)