The Shakespeare Conference: SHK 17.0709  Thursday, 3 August 2006

From: 		Al Magary <
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Date: 		Tuesday, 01 Aug 2006 22:56:23 -0700
Subject: 	Shakespeare in Big Type

Garrison Keillor's Writer's Almanac newsletter 
(http://mail.publicradio.org/content/506927/forms/apm_signup.htm), 
observing the Tuesday birthday of Herman Melville (1819), relates this 
anecdote about the young author's discovering Shakespeare in 1847, after 
his return from whaling:  ". . . he borrowed an edition of Shakespeare 
from a friend. He'd always had trouble reading Shakespeare because he 
had poor eyesight, and most of the Shakespeare editions were printed 
with small type. But this one was printed in large type, and Melville 
was blown away by what he could finally enjoy. He wrote in a letter to 
his friend, 'Dolt . . . that I am, I have lived more than 29 years, & 
until a few days ago, never made close acquaintance with the divine 
William. ... I now exult over it, page after page.'"

Aye, very like a whale.

Cheers,
Al Magary

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