"A library doesn't need windows. A library is a window." – Stewart Brand

Sep 27, 2013

Read Something! THE RIME OF THE MODERN MARINER by Nick Hayes

THE RIME OF THE MODERN MARINER
Nick Hayes

Graphic novel / poetry

This timely update of Samuel Taylor Coleridge's classic poem recasts the wedding guest as a cynical divorcee and the mariner as a harbinger of environmental doom. This mariner's murder of an albatross curses him to sail becalmed waters in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, witness the destruction wreaked upon our oceans and their wildlife by our discarded plastics and other garbage, confront the horrors of our lust for oil, and see for himself the devastating effect of humanity's actions upon our planet. But will his listener actually listen? With eye-catching visuals and a powerful message, this graphic novel brings home the need for change in our relationship with our planet while attaining some degree of literary/poetic merit in its own right. 

Readalikes:
  • "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner", Samuel Taylor Coleridge - the poem upon which this graphic novel is based
  • Moby-Duck by Donovan Hohn - nonfiction, but touches on many of the same topics and issues; told through the perspective of one man traveling the world to learn more
  • Sin City by Frank Miller - for those attracted to the unusual and striking visuals of the book, Sin City's stark illustrations will provide a similar reading experience although the subject matter is quite different (and violent)