The Publication of Melville's Piazza Tales

1944 ◽  
Vol 59 (1) ◽  
pp. 56
Author(s):  
Merton M. Sealts
Keyword(s):  
Piazza Tales

scholarly journals The Tastes from Portugal: Food as Remembrance in Portuguese American Literature

2008 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 126-152
Author(s):  
Reinaldo Silva
Keyword(s):  
Native Americans ◽  
New England ◽  
American Literature ◽  
Short Story ◽  
Herman Melville ◽  
Moby Dick ◽  
Ethnic Food ◽  
Piazza Tales

Contemporary Portuguese American literature written by Thomas Braga (1943-), Frank Gaspar (1946-), and Katherine Vaz (1955-) share a profusion of topics - with ethnic food being, perhaps, the most representative one. What these writers have in common is that their roots can be traced to Portugal's Atlantic islands - the Azores - and not to continental Portugal. They are native Americans and write in English, though their characters and themes are Portuguese American. Some of them lived close to the former New England whaling and fishing centers of New Bedford and Nantucket, which Herman Melville has immortalized in Moby-Dick and in his short story, “The 'Gees,” in The Piazza Tales. These seaports were renowned worldwide and eventually attracted Azorean harpooners. The Azorean background of Thomas Braga and Frank Gaspar helps us to understand why fish and seafood feature so extensively in their writings instead of dishes containing meat as is the case in the fiction of Katherine Vaz.

Piazza Tales

Sites Unseen ◽  
2011 ◽  
pp. 67-104
Author(s):  
William A. Gleason
Keyword(s):  
Piazza Tales

The Dark Truth of the Piazza Tales

PMLA ◽  
1970 ◽  
Vol 85 (5) ◽  
pp. 1082-1086 ◽  
Author(s):  
Scott Donaldson
Keyword(s):  
Human Perception ◽  
State Of Mind ◽  
Piazza Tales

Although a collection of stories, The Piazza Tales achieve unity by revealing Herman Melville's pessimistic state of mind during the early 1850's. Three persistent concerns of the author run through the six stories that make up the book: the difficulty of human perception, artistic and otherwise; the dangers of human isolation; and the catastrophic effects of human servitude.

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