From the Mast-Head

From the Mast-Head I cannot remember exactly when I first laid eyes on Donald Yannella. It might have been as early as 1975 when, a newly-minted PhD, I joined the Melville Society and found my head spinning at my first meeting, in San Francisco, where I was allowed, or more in the spirit of the occasion encouraged—forced actually—to hobnob with the likes of Merton M. Sealts, Jr., Leon Howard, Edwin Shneidman, Howard Horsford, Wilson Heflin, and Hennig Cohen. It was a bit unsettling to witness in the flesh people whose voices and presence I had known only through their scholarship. It had not occurred to me at age twenty-five that these writers had bodies, personalities, and actual voices, voices that would ask intimidating questions like “Tell me about yourself,” and eagerly expect a response. These were genial souls who enjoyed Melville and enjoyed making people feel at home with them and with Melville. But I was nervous nonetheless. Then came Donald Yannella along side of me, held me by the arm, made introductions, made me feel at ease. He was stout and roundish, and had a New York accent that reminded me of Ralph Kramden, and yet he had a gentleness, quick smile, and embracing nature that, all in one, characterized the generous spirit of the Melville Society. I was hooked. Some years later, Don asked me to apply for a small grant from The Newberry Library that would give me a month at that wonderful Chicago institution, which I had known from my days in graduate school at the University of Chicago, in order to—get this—read a couple decades of dissertations on Melville—the library had collected them all—and write an annotated bibliography. It was not my dream job, but it turned into my first book. Those weeks spent at The Newberry were unforgettable, and the knowledge I absorbed prepared me for Greenwood’s Companion to Melville Studies. Don gave me this opportunity knowing that it would help me and help Melville scholarship; it came natural to him to help people, to put people and projects together: he was a scholar, teacher, and editor. Donald Yannella died suddenly last spring at the age of seventy-seven. As the editor of the Melville Society for over fifteen years, he established high standards for a not so little, learned publication called Melville Society Extracts, turning it from a mimeographed circular into a highly regarded, scholarly newsletter. Don supervised all aspects of editing and production: c  2012 The Melville Society and Wiley Periodicals, Inc. L E V I A T H A N A J O U R N A L O F M E L V I L L E S T U D I E S 3 F R O M T H E M A S T - H E A D vetting submissions, designing and laying out pages, managing subscriptions, reproducing and storing copies, and getting four issues a year into the mail. In 1990, the Melville Society had grown so large under his guidance and his role as secretary-treasurer-editor had become so complex that his retirement that year required a revamping of the society’s by-laws that, among other things, divided his former job into three separate offices. As president of the Melville Society in 1990, he witnessed the smooth transition of the society into an era of new growth and expansion in terms of membership, programs, and publications. We owe much to Don Yannella and will miss him. And Leviathan, too—the journal that grew out of Melville Society Extracts —will be making another sea-change as well. Since 2005, Leviathan has been published, first by Blackwell Publishing, and then Wiley-Blackwell, as the flagship journal in that firm’s “American Literature Collection.” Unfortunately, Wiley removed its support for this sensible venture, and last year at this time I set about looking for a new publisher for our journal. I am happy to announce that beginning with its March, 2013 issue (volume 15), Leviathan: A Journal of Melville Studies will be published by Johns Hopkins University Press. Leviathan will appear in its familiar “hardcopy” cover and...