Snug Harbor Shanties, A Short Documentary — Singing the History that Can’t be Found in Textbooks

My novel, The Shantyman, begins with a fictionalized Bill Doerflinger recording the tale told by a retired ship’s captain of a shantyman who saved his ship and its crew. The old captain lives close to the sailor’s retirement home, Sailor’s Snug … Continue reading

Today in History – Herman Melville, Sailor’s Snug Harbor & Nelson at Aboukir Bay

Today is the birthday of Herman Melville, one of the greatest American writers. He was born in 1819 on Pearl Street in downtown Manhattan, almost directly across the Hudson from where I am now writing this post. He will always … Continue reading