NEW BEDFORD, MASSACHUSETTS, 1851—I would first like to apologize to the provost for taking so long to respond to his correspondences inquiring after the status of my thesis. I promise, it was absolutely my goal to write a heartfelt and honest portrait of the American maritime industry and an exploration of the human desire for vengeance. I had it all planned out. There would be a vindictive sea captain with a Biblical name, a bunch of references to Shakespeare, and a whale. But it didn’t work out like that.

See, when I decided to put a whale in my thesis, I knew I was going to have to do it right. So, I have spent the last four months in the Reg (the Regular Library Association of New Bedford Maritime Enthusiasts), reading every book they have about whale biology. Unfortunately, this means that I do not actually have a thesis for my Creative Writing BA. However, I do have a lot of whale facts. Here are some of them:

1. Whales are not actually fish. But my protagonist, Ishmael, thinks they are. This is a way to show that Ishmael has not done as much whale research as I have, LOL.
2. One sperm whale’s blubber contains about 264 gallons of oil. I think I used about that much to keep my lamp lit while I was doing all this whale research.
3. There are many different species of whales. So… so many…
4. Whales are like books. They can be classified by their size, and the biggest ones are the most impressive. Hence why I need so many whale facts to fill my book.
5. Books are like whales. If they’re about big animals, they must also be about big themes. Therefore, my thesis will be awesome… once I actually finish it.

Herman Melville

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