Herman Melville ( Date of Birth - August 1, 1819 – Date of Death is September 28, 1891) was an American novelist, short story writer, essayist, and poet. He is best known for his novel Moby-Dick. His first three books gained much contemporary attention (the first, Typee, becoming a bestseller), and after a fast-blooming literary success in the late 1840s, his popularity declined precipitously in the mid-1850s and never recovered during his lifetime.
When he died in 1891, he was almost completely forgotten. It was not until the "Melville Revival" in the early 20th century that his work won recognition, especially Moby-Dick, which was hailed as one of the literary masterpieces of both American and world literature. He was the first writer to have his works collected and published by the Library of America.
The Life and Works of Herman Melville
The Life and Works of Herman Melville is a publication dedicated to disseminating information about Herman Melville on the Internet and the World Wide Web. Another valuable Internet resource is Ishmail, an electronic mailing list devoted to the discussion of Melville, his works, and other related subjects.
Moby-Dick Marathon Fifth annual nonstop reading of the novel in New Bedford, MA
Credits for above post and More details at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herman_Melville
http://www.melville.org/
