A Whaler's Dictionary

“This is a rich, profound, fascinating book, the kind that widens the margins of everything we read, making room for new observations, more creative relationships all around: writer/reader, person/book, literature/life.”

“An oddly ideal work of criticism, breathing new life into Moby-Dick and showing how the novel subsists as an intricately living thing.”

“Readers will not be able to skim; much of the power of these poems resides in what they suggest rather than in what they spell out. Nature is a common thread, with each poem revealing a masterly painter’s eye for visual details.”

“A Whaler’s Dictionary reminds us why poets must sometimes measure their gifts against the calculus of prose, and why criticism by poets, unlike academic arguments, sometimes produces a flame which stands the test of time.”

“Taking a powerful, lyrical sweep through one of the country’s most charged and versatile symbols, Dan Beachy-Quick opens Moby-Dick into yet more meanings and directions in this book-length reverie, perfectly sustained by his intricate sound play and impeccable phrasing. Intelligent, compassionate, exquisite, Beachy-Quick’s is a unique voice in contemporary poetry.”

“This is a major work on the charged relationship that can come into being between text and reader, written by one of America’s most significant young poets.”