An historic blogger from 175 years ago
Mike Peterson
brig Pilgrim for the coast of California, then a part of Mexico.
Aboard this tiny trading vessel was a Harvard student, Richard Henry
Dana, traveling as a common sailor.
His journal, Two Years Before The Mast, was a landmark not only in
journalism but in human rights. To this day, most stories of the sea
are told from the point of view of the officers, who tend to depict
poor Jack as a brute, a comic figure or simply an interchangeable part
in the greater drama. Dana's best-seller did for sailors what Jacob
Riis's "How the Other Half Lives" did for poor slum-dwellers, but,
unlike Riis, Dana was a participant and not simply an observer.
Not only did it inspire reform in the merchant fleet, but it inspired
Herman Melville, who wrote, "if you want the best idea of Cape Horn,
get my friend Dana's unmatchable Two Years Before the Mast. But you
can read, and so you must have read it. His chapters describing Cape
Horn must have been written with an icicle."
I intend, over the next two years, to post his writings in real time,
but delayed 175 years, so that readers can enjoy his voyage in a blog
format. My theory is that, if the entries are read one at a time over
the period of the trip, readers will focus more clearly on each
episode. For students, this means additional time to reflect, research
and comment on what Dana is experiencing.
I have added some backgrounders to the rail so that people can find
the vocabulary and diagrams they need to fill in the gaps in their
knowledge of seamanship, and I intend to add a map or two before the
official launch, but I hope folks won't fret over the difference
between a jib boom and a marline spike, because the point is that Dana
was a wonderful writer who would truly have made a great blogger --
engaging, insightful, inspirational and with a wit that remains sharp
nearly 200 years later.
The blog is currently (Aug 2) live, but the first date is August 14,
so there won't be an update until August 17, when Dana wrote his
second journal entry. I'm announcing it early to give you a chance to
check it out before it begins regular updates.
Please bookmark it and join me!
http://www.weeklystorybook.com/dana/
(PS -- Our main site, www.weeklystorybook.com, is currently running a
series of Greek and Roman myths.)
Mike Peterson
ser...@teachup.com