Melville, Sendak, Pierre , and Pierre

Abstract: This essay takes up the queer energies that animate Maurice Sendak’s relationship to, and influence by, the writings of Herman Melville. Looking specifically at Sendak’s illustrations of the 1995 Kraken edition of Melville’s 1852 novel Pierre as well as his 1962 children’s story Pierre: A Cautionary Tale in Five Chapters and a Prologue , this essay suggests that Sendak’s attachment to Melville enables a method of queer historiography, one that takes such instances of attachment as its starting point.

Authors

Publication Details

Journal
Leviathan
Published
2025-10-01
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1353/lvn.2025.a976195
Primary Topic
Shakespeare, Adaptation, and Literary Criticism
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00
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article

Melville, Sendak, Pierre , and Pierre

Dana Seitler
Leviathan
Shakespeare, Adaptation, and Literary Criticism
article

Melville, Sendak, Pierre , and Pierre

Dana Seitler
article en

Abstract

Abstract: This essay takes up the queer energies that animate Maurice Sendak’s relationship to, and influence by, the writings of Herman Melville. Looking specifically at Sendak’s illustrations of the 1995 Kraken edition of Melville’s 1852 novel Pierre as well as his 1962 children’s story Pierre: A Cautionary Tale in Five Chapters and a Prologue , this essay suggests that Sendak’s attachment to Melville enables a method of queer historiography, one that takes such instances of attachment as its starting point.

LeviathanVol. 27(3)
Openalex Percentile: Top 62%
Shakespeare, Adaptation, and Literary Criticism
DOISourceOpenAlex
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Melville, Sendak, Pierre , and Pierre — Dana Seitler · Leviathan (2025) | TGRS Research Map | TGRS