John Marr and Other Poems

by Herman Melville

"John Marr and Other Poems" by Herman Melville is a poetry collection published in 1888. Melville privately printed only twenty-five copies at his own expense for family and friends. The volume features nautical-themed poems exploring the lives of sailors and the sea, assembled during the same period Melville drafted "Billy Budd." The title poem follows an old sailor who leaves the ocean for prairie life, where he struggles to connect with religious pioneers who cannot relate to his seafaring stories.