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William Faulkner on wishing he’d written Moby-Dick (1851)
By Jay Innis Murray TO THE BOOK EDITOR OF The Chicago Tribune*, It is a difficult question. I can name offhand several books which I should like to have written, if only for the privilege of rewriting parts of them. But I dare say there are any number of angels in heaven today (particularly recent Continue reading
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8 Photos from a trip to The Old Manse in Concord 9.10.22
I visited The Old Manse today. This is a house built in 1770 for Ralph Waldo Emerson’s grandfather, William Emerson. Emerson and Hawthorne both lived there for short periods of time in the 1830s and 1840s. All the photos are mine. The words are mostly by Hawthorne. The Old Manse on 09.10.2022. Between two tall Continue reading
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“Who aint a slave?” A Note on Melville and Slavery
A note on Melville and slavery Continue reading
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A Note on the Etymology Section of Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick
Melville invites us to turn the tables on him by starting with Etymology. We are miles from Call me Ishmael here. So, turn the tables. An usher is an assistant teacher, a job he once had. But the etymology of usher comes from Old French and Latin for a doorman. He’s got a doorkeeper at Continue reading
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Book Mail 9.1.22 Harrow (2021) by Joy Williams
First book mail of September has arrived… Continue reading
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A few religious questions I’d like to ask the American writer Denis Johnson
A few religious questions for the author Denis Johnson Continue reading
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Book Mail 8.24.22 Mulligan Stew
Mulligan Stew in today’s mail. Continue reading
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On the novel Wieland (1798) by Charles Brockden Brown
A friend told me that Wieland was the poet Shelley’s favorite novel. It was published in 1798, the same year as Lyrical Ballads Continue reading
About Talking Big
All posts by Jay Innis Murray.
Always on the lookout for new books to review. Please drop me a line at grashupfer@gmail.com or say hi on Twitter, Mastodon or Blue Sky.
Read my novel here: https://tinyurl.com/p98jtu7c
Recent Posts
- A Review of The Ten Year Affair by Erin Somers
- Stealing Einstein’s Underpants – A Review of The Delegation (2025) by Avner Landes
- A Review of On the Calculation of Volume 1 (2024) by Solvej Balle
- A Review of The Cannibal Owl (2025) by Aaron Gwyn
- A Review of Every Arc Bends Its Radian (2024) by Sergio De La Pava
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