Boxing the Compass: A Century and a Half of Discourse About Sailor's Chanties

by Gibb Schreffler

How do we know what we know about chanties? Beginning with the earliest sources, this book traces the history of writing about chanties — exploring the layers of discourse that have developed as authors and collectors have relied on, borrowed from, and contradicted those that came before them — creating an indispensible guide to the primary authors and sources through a century and a half of chanty literature.

Genres: History

116 pages, Paperback

Published April 1, 2018

Reviews

[Ellen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Despite the sometimes colorful asides about the shanty/chanty community, this was a fantastic, if brief, tour of the historical research into sea shanties. My initial reaction to Stan Hugill's book was surprise followed quickly by "citation needed" skepticism about some of his his assertions. It was a relief to finally have those gut impressions validated and explored systematically. I look forward to reading a more extensive book rewriting the existing imperfect history of the genre with more academic rigor.