What’s New?
- Biographies: Jamaica Kincaid, Marilyn Nelson, Clifford Ashley, Sylvia Earle, and Phillis Wheatley
- Audio: Harriet Beecher Stowe's The Pearl of Orr’s Island
- Video: Derek Walcott reads "Sea Grapes"
- Featured Author: Ursula K. Le Guin
Tag Archives: Pacific Islands
Twain, Mark (Samuel Clemens)
by John Samson (2000) [CLEMENS, SAMUEL LANGHORNE], “MARK TWAIN” (1835- 1910). Though more widely known for his writing on the Mississippi River, Samuel Clemens traveled extensively at sea, experiences that find their way into a number of the writings he Continue reading text links
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Tagged 19th Century, Antarctic, Atlantic Ocean, audio, Fiction, First-person narrative, Indian Ocean, Pacific Islands, Passenger Travel
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Porter, David
by Udo Nattermann (2000) PORTER, DAVID (1780-1843). The son of a veteran of the American Revolution, David Porter was born in Boston and grew up in Baltimore. He began his naval career as a midshipman in 1798 and became master commandant Continue reading text links
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Tagged 19th Century, Atlantic Ocean, Exploration, First-person narrative, Navy/Coast Guard, Pacific Islands, Pacific Ocean, War
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Williams, Tennessee
by Felicia Hardison Londre (2000) WILLIAMS, TENNESSEE [THOMAS LANIER] (1911-1983). Winner of four New York Drama Critics’ Circle Awards and two Pulitzer Prizes for his plays, Tennessee Williams is most identified with the American South. He was born in Mississippi Continue reading text links
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Tagged 20th Century, Atlantic Ocean, Gender/Sexuality and the Sea, Gulf of Mexico, Multimedia/Multimodal, Pacific Islands, Passenger Travel, Plays, Recreation
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Theroux, Paul
by Boyd Childress (2000) THEROUX, PAUL [EDWARD] (1941- ). Paul Theroux was born in Medford, Massachusetts, and received his B.A. from the University of Massachusetts in 1963. Having taught in Malawi, Uganda, and Singapore, he is a prolific novelist and travel Continue reading text links
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Tagged 20th Century, Atlantic Ocean, Children's Writing, Multimedia/Multimodal, Nonfiction, Pacific Islands, Short Story
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Nordhoff, Charles, the younger AND James Norman Hall
by Grove Koger (2000) NORDHOFF, CHARLES [BERNARD] the younger (1887-1947) AND JAMES NORMAN HALL (1887-1951). Writers Charles Nordhoff and James Norman Hall were born the same year but worlds apart, Nordhoff in London of American parents and Hall in Colfax, Continue reading text links
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Tagged 20th Century, Fiction, Maritime History, Multimedia/Multimodal, Navy/Coast Guard, Pacific Islands, Pacific Ocean, War
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Morrell, Benjamin
by Haskell Springer (2000) MORRELL, BENJAMIN (1795-1839). Benjamin Morrell, sealing captain and explorer, was born in Rye, New York, the son of a shipbuilder. His early experiences included being twice captured by the British during the War of 1812 and spending Continue reading text links
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Tagged 19th Century, Antarctic, Atlantic Ocean, Exploration, Nonfiction, Pacific Islands, Pacific Ocean, Whaling/Sealing
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Moore, Christopher
by Mira Dock (2000) MOORE, CHRISTOPHER K. (1957- ). Christopher Moore has lived on the California coast for over twenty years, using his experiences on diving and fishing boats around the world in two offbeat novels. Island of the Sequined Love Continue reading text links
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Tagged 20th Century, Fiction, Fishing, Pacific Islands, Pacific Ocean
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Michener, James A.
by Grove Koger (2000) MICHENER, JAMES A[LBERT]. (1907-1997). Prolific novelist James A. Michener was rescued as a foundling by a widow living in Doylestown, Pennsylvania. Years later, having taught high school and college, Michener found his nascent career as a textbook Continue reading text links
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Tagged 20th Century, Caribbean, Fiction, Navy/Coast Guard, Pacific Islands, Pacific Ocean, War
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Merwin, W.S.
by Michael P. Branch (2000) MERWIN, W[ILLIAM]. S[TANLEY]. (1927-2019). Born in New York City and educated at Princeton University, W. S. Merwin has lived and worked in France, Portugal, Majorca, New York, and, in later years, Hawai’i. The author of four Continue reading text links
Melville, Herman
by Mary K. Bercaw Edwards (2000) MELVILLE, HERMAN (1819-1891). More than any other American author, Herman Melville used the sea as setting and concept to create great literature. With broad-ranging and deep philosophical interests, his books are far more than adventure Continue reading text links
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Tagged 19th Century, Antarctic, audio, Class/Labor and the Sea, Fiction, Merchant Marine, Navy/Coast Guard, Pacific Islands, Pacific Ocean, Race/Ethnicity and the Sea, video, Whaling/Sealing
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London, Jack
by Susan Irvin Gatti (2000) LONDON, JACK (1876-1916). Born John Griffith Chaney in San Francisco in 1876, Jack London was deserted by his father and raised in Oakland by his mother and his stepfather, whose surname he adopted. London worked Continue reading text links
Gann, Ernest K.
by James F. Millinger (2000) GANN, ERNEST K[ELLOGG]. (1910-1991). Known primarily for his books in the field of aviation literature, Ernest K. Gann wrote about seafaring in Twilight for the Gods (1956) and Song of the Sirens (1968). Twilight for Continue reading text links
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Tagged 20th Century, Fiction, Pacific Islands, Pacific Ocean
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Delano, Amasa
by James L. Gray (2000) DELANO, AMASA (1763-1823). Amasa Delano, whose Voyages and Travels (1817) was the source for Herman Melville’s “Benito Cereno” (1855), was born in Duxbury, Massachusetts. After serving briefly in the Continental army during the American Revolution, Continue reading text links
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Tagged 18th Century, 19th Century, Exploration, First-person narrative, Indian Ocean, Pacific Islands, Pacific Ocean, War
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