Date: Mar 14, 2012

Dr. John Bryant Takes the Stage for "Call Me Ishmael"

Hofstra University, Hempstead, NY … Dr. John Bryant, Hofstra Professor of English and one of the world’s foremost experts on Herman Melville, will be participating in a Thursday, March 15, 2012, roundtable discussion about Moby Dick at Pianos, located at 158 Ludlow Street in New York City. The roundtable is just one in a series of events titled Call Me Ishmael.

Songwriter and author Patrick Shea is the creative force behind Call Me Ishmael. After reading Moby Dick for the first time four summers ago, he was inspired to write one song for each of the 136 chapters in the book. Over a three year period he recorded and posted the songs to his blog callmeishmael.org and is now performing the works live.

Shea is presenting events every week in March at Pianos that feature some of the songs in his Call Me Ishmael catalog. The March 15 event will be an “Academic Night,” that will include the roundtable discussion with Dr. Bryant, a performance by The School of Rock House band, as well as Shea’s songs from the more philosophical and theoretical chapters of Moby Dick.

The roundtable discussion will begin at 8 p.m. In addition to Dr. Bryant, Bill Kelly, president of the CUNY Graduate Center, and David Reynolds, distinguished professor of the CUNY Graduate Center, will participate.

For more information please visit callmeishmael.org or pianosnyc.com.