Stories: Voyages of Men, Women and the Sea

The sea is all around us, huge, powerful, beautiful, fearsome. In the last few years, it has become a best-selling topic. Why? What is it about the sea that attracts us and terrifies us? We will read and discuss four recent works of men and women who work and live upon the sea: two tales of fishing the North Atlantic, the most dangerous of all occupations; the story of the whaleship Essex, rammed by a whale in 1820, and the survival of eight of her crewmen; and the story of a father and son journeying around Cape Horn: the ultimate test of the sailor.

Readings:

My Old Man and the Sea, David Hays and Daniel Hays

Perfect Storm, Sebastian Junger

The Hungry Ocean, Linda Greenlaw

In the Heart of the Sea, Nathaniel Philbrick