The Melville Society , is an organization for the study of author

Herman Melville Herman Melville (Name change, born Melvill; August 1, 1819 – September 28, 1891) was an American people, American novelist, short story writer, and poet of the American Renaissance (literature), American Renaissance period. Among his bes ...

. Founded in 1945, the Society was a result of the

Melville Revival Herman Melville (Name change, born Melvill; August 1, 1819 – September 28, 1891) was an American people, American novelist, short story writer, and poet of the American Renaissance (literature), American Renaissance period. Among his bes ...

of the 1920s and 1930s and is now the oldest American society devoted to a single literary figure. Its primary publication is ''Leviathan: A Journal of Melville Studies'', issued three times per year. The society has formed a cultural project in collaboration with the

New Bedford Whaling Museum The New Bedford Whaling Museum is a museum in New Bedford, Massachusetts, United States that focuses on the history, science, art, and culture of the international whaling industry, and the "Old Dartmouth" region (now the city of New Bedford and ...

, the host of the Melville Society Archive, and has an editorial office at

Hofstra University Hofstra University is a private university in Hempstead, New York. It is Long Island's largest private university. Hofstra originated in 1935 as an extension of New York University (NYU) under the name Nassau College – Hofstra Memorial of Ne ...

. It meets primarily at the

American Literature Association The American Literature Association (ALA) is "a coalition of societies devoted to the study of American authors". It has some 110 affiliated societies, mostly concerned with the work of a particular author (e.g. the Emily Dickinson International ...

and

Modern Language Association The Modern Language Association of America, often referred to as the Modern Language Association (MLA), is widely considered the principal professional association in the United States for scholars of language and literature. The MLA aims to "st ...

annual conferences and has also held international meetings. It has approximately 400 members, comprising both individuals and institutions.

Founding and history

The society was founded in February 1945 by

Harrison Hayford Harrison Mosher Hayford (b. Belfast, Maine 1 November 1916 - d. 10 December 2001 Evanston, Illinois) was a scholar of American literature, most prominently of Herman Melville, a book-collector, and a textual editor. He taught at Northwestern Uni ...

and Tyrus Hillway. Both had studied with

Stanley Williams Stanley Tookie Williams III (December 29, 1953 – December 13, 2005) was an American gang member and spree killer who co-founded and led the Crips gang in Los Angeles. He and Raymond Washington formed an alliance in 1971 that established the ...

, the Yale professor of English. The membership included both academic and public figures in the

of the 1920s and 1930s and those from late 1930s university graduate programs that began to train scholars in American literature. Among the presidents were

Willard Thorp Willard Long Thorp (1899–1992) was an economist and academic who served three US Presidents, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry S. Truman and Dwight D. Eisenhower as an advisor in both domestic and foreign affairs. He helped draft the Marshall ...

(1952},

Merton Sealts Merton M. Sealts Jr. (December 8, 1915 – June 4, 2000) was a scholar of American literature, focusing on Ralph Waldo Emerson and Herman Melville. His most important works are the genetic edition of Melville's ''Billy Budd, Sailor'' (1962, co-edite ...

(1953),

(1955, 1970), (1992), (1999), Richard H. Fogle, (1961),

Henry A. Murray Henry Alexander Murray (May 13, 1893 – June 23, 1988) was an American psychologist at Harvard University, where from 1959 to 1962 he conducted a series of psychologically damaging and purposefully abusive experiments on minors and under ...

(1966) (1980),

Walter Bezanson Walter E. Bezanson (June 19, 1911 Needham, MassachusettsFebruary 5, 2011 Saint Paul, Minnesota ) was a scholar and critic of American literature best known for his studies of Herman Melville and contributions to the Melville revival that restored t ...

(1967) (1989), Leon Howard (1971),

Robert Penn Warren Robert Penn Warren (April 24, 1905 – September 15, 1989) was an American poet, novelist, and literary critic and was one of the founders of New Criticism. He was also a charter member of the Fellowship of Southern Writers. He founded the liter ...

(1974),

Jay Leyda Jay Leyda (February 12, 1910 – February 15, 1988)David Stirk and Elena Pinto Simon in was an American avant-garde filmmaker and film historian, noted for his work on U.S, Soviet, and Chinese cinema, as well as his documentary compilations on ...

(1976) (1987),

Lewis Mumford Lewis Mumford (October 19, 1895 – January 26, 1990) was an American historian, sociologist, philosopher of technology, and literary critic. Particularly noted for his study of cities and urban architecture, he had a broad career as a wr ...

(1977),

G. Thomas Tanselle George Thomas Tanselle (born January 29, 1934) is an American textual critic, bibliographer, and book collector, especially known for his work on Herman Melville. He was Vice President of the John Simon Guggenheim Foundation from 1978 to 2006. Bi ...

(1982),

Hershel Parker Hershel Parker is an American professor of English and literature, noted for his research into the works of Herman Melville. Parker is the H. Fletcher Brown Professor Emeritus at the University of Delaware. He is co-editor with Harrison Hayford of t ...

(1991), H. Bruce Franklin (1993),

Andrew Delbanco Andrew H. Delbanco (born 1952) is the Alexander Hamilton Professor of American Studies at Columbia University and the president of thTeagle Foundation He is the author of many books, including ''The War Before the War: Fugitive Slaves and the Str ...

(2007) Melville Societ
Listing of Society Officers
/ref> The Society overcame some initial skepticism. Hilway's editorial in the 1947 ''Melville Society Newsletter'' reported that critics "were willing to believe that the so-called Melville boom represented a temporary and esoteric enthusiasm for a fifth-rate literary figure...." He said that, to the contrary, the Society can reassure itself of its part in "virile and outreaching growth of Melville scholarship".

References

Notes

External links

Society homepage
{{US-org-stub Herman Melville