Able Eyes, by Sea Fever

from the album Surface Sound

Sea Fever

Sea Fever by John Masefield

Story-telling is the signature of humanity. 

And the very best stories of all come from our poets.  

John Edward Masefield was a consummate story-teller.  Born in Ledbury in Herefordshire, England on June 1, 1878, he lost his parents at an early age and endured an unhappy education at the King’s School in Warwick. He escaped to the sea on board the HMS Conway for two reasons, the first one being to train for a life at sea.   

His second reason was more unusual: to break his addiction to reading because his aunt thought it was a wasteful pastime.  Instead of curbing his appetite for reading, the lengthy time at sea gave him the occasion to read and write.  His love of story-telling was cultivated when he listened to shipmates speak of the lore of the sea.

https://youtu.be/f3X1XS0tYnE?si=GghFPXRDwRz1wPz2

John Masefield left the sea to become a writer.  It was not an easy road – he lived as a vagrant and accepted odd jobs, including an assistant to a bar keeper. Through a combination of hard work, dedication to his craft, and a deep connection to his roots, he honed his skills as a poet. His ability to articulate the human experience, coupled with a unique perspective on life, eventually led to his recognition as a poet.

John Masefield became Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom from 1930 until his death in 1967.  He rests in the Poets’ Corner in Westminster Abbey.

Poet’s Corner, Westminster Abbey (Rebecca Budd Archives January 22, 2024)

Sea Fever is on my favourite list.  I especially identify with:  “And all I ask is a merry yarn from a laughing fellow-rover.”  In the end, it is our connections with friends and family that make life extraordinary.

Sea Fever
by John Masefield

I must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky,
And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by,
And the wheel’s kick and the wind’s song and the white sail’s shaking,
And a grey mist on the sea’s face, and a grey dawn breaking,

I must down to the seas again, for the call of the running tide
Is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied;
And all I ask is a windy day with the white clouds flying,
And the flung spray and the blown spume, and the sea-gulls crying.

I must down to the seas again, to the vagrant gypsy life,
To the gull’s way and the whale’s way where the wind’s like a whetted knife;
And all I ask is a merry yarn from a laughing fellow-rover,
And quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the long trick’s over.

Sea Fever by John MasefieldRebecca's Reading Room

#art #JohnMasefield #Norfolk #Poetry #PoetryInTheEvening #RebeccaSReadingRoom #SeaFever #UK #WellNextTheSea

Sea Fever by John Masefield

YouTube

#SeaFever
The crew of a fishing ship fight for survival against an unknown species after becoming marooned at sea.

🦑 https://pradt.co/sea-fever

A film by Neasa Hardiman, starring Hermione Corfield, Dougray Scott, and Connie Nielsen.

SEA FEVER

Uncharted. Undiscovered. Until now...

PRADT

Nou capítol de Terrible Visió! I quina temàtica extravagant toca ara? Pel·lis de monstres subaquàtics!

Comencem de refiló amb #SeaFever (esta és més de superficie) i després parlem més a fons (HAHAHA) de #DeepStarSix, #Leviathan i #Underwater

Pel·lícules que probablement ningú conega, però que les 2 primeres han sigut de la meua infantesa (citant a @moixamental : Tal vegada em va faltar l'oxigen al nàixer 😂)

Com sempre, a #iVoox #Spotify #ApplePodcast i #GooglePodcast

https://go.ivoox.com/rf/119883029

T03-E16 Bajo del mar 🦀🦀🦀 - Terrible Visió - Podcast en iVoox

Escucha y descarga los episodios de Terrible Visió gratis. Dediquem este programa de Terrible Visió a un subgènere que ens encanta, però que, a la vegada, no està suficientment explotat: monstres subaquàt... Programa: Terrible Visió. Canal: Pòdcast de Terrible Visió. Tiempo: 01:12:54 Subido 22/11 a las 00:03:23 119883029

iVoox
Lovely day yesterday, checking epson proofs for the exhibition catalogue for our upcoming exhibition 'The Last Voyage of the Gloucester: Norfolk's Royal Shipwreck, 1682' which opens 25 February & runs until 10 September 2023
Tickets on sale now, so do come & visit the fine city of Norwich
https://www.museums.norfolk.gov.uk/norwich-castle/whats-on/exhibitions/last-voyage-of-the-gloucester
#histodons #earlymodernmaritimestudies #seafever #gloucester
I watched the Irish horror film #SeaFever (2019) on the plane, with no expectations at all, and I was surprised by how good it was. Beautiful visuals and so dread inducing! Highly recommend for anyone who likes ocean horror! #HorrorMovies #CineMastodon
Sea-Fever

I must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky, And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by; And the wheel’s kick and the wind’s song and the white sail’s shaking, And a grey mist on the sea’s face, and a grey dawn breaking.   I must go down to the seas again, for…

The Poetry Foundation
Fantastic press coverage today about the Gloucester with Items from 1682 shipwreck to go on display next year
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-norfolk-63948562 & here's the link to my free-to-read article on the circumstances & consequences of the tragedy 'The Last Voyage of the Gloucester (1682): The Politics of a Royal Shipwreck' in EHR
https://academic.oup.com/ehr/article/137/586/728/6604921?login=false @earlymodernmaritimestudies #histodons #seafever #maritime
The Gloucester: Items from 1682 shipwreck to go on display next year

The Gloucester has been hailed as the UK's most important maritime find since the Mary Rose.

BBC News
See the full #Conference Programme for 'The Life, Times, and Heritage Futures of the Gloucester'
Norwich Castle Museum & Art Gallery
12−13 May 2023
Speakers include: Steve Pincus, Mark Knights, Alex Hildred, Fred Hocker, Karin Bowie, Richard Endsor, Rebecca Herrisone & divers Julian & Lincoln Barnwell & #Gloucestershipwreck Project team
To book your place, see: https://store.uea.ac.uk/conferences-and-events/faculty-of-arts-and-humanities/conferencesevents/the-life-times-and-heritage-futures-of-the-gloucester-a-seventeenthcentury-thirdrate-warship
#histodon #earlymodon #martime #seafever
The Life, Times, and Heritage Futures of the Gloucester, a Seventeenth-Century Third-Rate Warship | University of East Anglia Online Store

The discovery of the wreck the Gloucester, one of the most famous ships of the seventeenth century, which sank off the coast of Norfolk in 1682 while carry

Swabs & gobs, ahoy! Maritime Humanities 1400-1800 invites proposals for books that conceptually engage with issues of globalization, post-colonialism, eco-criticism, environmentalism & the histories of science & technologies ... messages in 🍾 welcome
https://aup.nl/en/series/maritime-humanities-1400-1800
Happy to answer Qs about the series
#earlymodernmaritimestudies
#histodons #earlymodons #travelwriting #Maritime #seafever #archaeology
Maritime Humanities, 1400-1800

The series puts maritime humanities at the centre of a transnational historiographical scholarship that seeks to transform traditional land-based histories of states and nations by focusing on the cultural meanings of the early modern ocean.