Wisdom and Woe

The great American novel Moby-Dick describes symbolically Herman Melville's stormy spiritual voyage. It is also a profound expression of Western civilization in transition. Edward Edinger approaches Moby-Dick as a psychological document, a symbolic record of an intense inner experience which, like a dream, needs interpretation and elaboration of its images for their meaning to emerge fully. Central to Edinger's penetrating commentary is the concept of nekyia, signifying a descent to the underworld -- that is, an encounter with the unconscious. Thus, the subtitle of this work underscores the correspondence between the deep internal struggle from which Melville's masterpiece emerged and the hidden complexities within us all.

Melville's Moby-Dick: An American Nekyia

The protagonists in Lucian's ironically-titled True History (2nd century AD) visit a city with rainbow walls, discover a sea of milk supporting an island of cheese, take a trip to the Moon, and get themselves swallowed by a 200-mile-long giant whale (whose belly is populated by a society of fish people).

But in case there is any doubt, the introduction of the book openly confesses that these are all lies. Lucian's "history" is, in fact, a satire of authors who embellish their accounts with outlandish people, places, and events. Among his targets are Homer and Herodotus (making cameo appearances). His irreverent attitude towards the Greek pantheon earned him a reputation as an atheist. When the book abruptly ends, Lucian promises that the heroes' travels will continue in future books (another lie).

True History established the model for all subsequent fantastical travelogues: from Rabelais to de Bergerac, Swift, Melville, and beyond. For its off-world adventures, it is often considered one of the (if not the) earliest surviving examples of science fiction in the Western world, for which Lucian has been deemed "the first of the moderns." If more absurdist than scientific (and therefore less "modern"), it has nevertheless endured as a timeless classic.

True History Decrypted (full text and commentary):

Inside the Whale (Joseph G. Peterson, 2011) is a modern narrative poem that tells the tragic, mythic story of an artist struggling with alcoholism, guilt, and self-destructive behavior.

It follows the life of Jim O'Connor, an Irishman and aspiring poet in Chicago. He is haunted by the memory his ex-girlfriend, Anne, who was killed in a car crash while Jim was driving while intoxicated.

The story is presented in stanzas that shift between third and first-person accounts, incorporating many of Jim's own poems. It is framed in the spirit of Beowulf, imagining a bardic drone recounting the story to a group of ruffians.

It has been described as a "beautifully haunting, fascinating, and unique novel"; "infused with spirit, heart and awe"; and features nods to Moby-Dick.

For this meetup, we will be joined by the author for a discussion about his book.

Note: This meetup will be recorded.

Inside the Whale:

After serving with the Russian army, Baron Münchhausen (1720-1797) retired to his country estate in Hanover, where he gained a reputation as a raconteur of extraordinary tales about his life as a soldier, hunter, and sportsman.

It was Rudolf Erich Raspe, however, who made Münchhausen's name legendary as a braggadocio artist. In 1781, he began to publish satirical anecdotes based on the character. In subsequent years, the tales grew taller and more numerous to meet their booming demand. Among the impossible feats attributed to Münchhausen: riding on a cannonball, fighting a forty-foot crocodile, travelling to the Moon, and being swallowed by a whale.

Today, the fictional Baron is known as a "comic giant" of literature, whose stories celebrate the "splendid, purposeless lie[s] born of the joy of life." He has been adapted countless times for stage, radio, and film; influenced the literature of Jules Verne and Herman Melville; been monumentalized in statues, museums, and philosophy discussions; and become a byword in psychology and mathematics.

The real-life Münchhausen, however, was so ashamed of his newfound notoriety that he turned recluse, refusing to host further parties or tell any more stories. For his part, Raspe had published the Adventures anonymously, probably to escape libel charges.

The Surprising Adventures of Baron Munchausen: