Journey to St. Thomas: Tales for Our Time

6 x 9

392 PAGES

PAPERBACK

OCTOBER 2023

9781682753347

Josiah Hatch was born in Savannah, Georgia, a fourth generation Georgian. He was sent at age 14 to board at Episcopal High School (founded 1839 in Alexandria, Virginia), and then to Princeton where he graduated summa cum laude in Ancient Greek and Latin and minored in music theory. A Marshall scholar at Pembroke College, Oxford, he studied Anglo-Saxon and Middle English. He spent a year in Italy studying Latin literature, history and art. In Washington, D.C., Mr. Hatch was a museum administrator at the Smithsonian Institution, a speechwriter and political aide, and, after picking up a law degree from Georgetown, a lawyer. In addition to his legal practice, he teaches courses in international business and economics at the Josef Korbel School for International Studies at the University of Denver. He is co-author of a legal treatise on Director and Officer Liability, Indemnification and Insurance.

As an illustrator, Cathy Morrison is passionate about nature, science and the environment. Combining her degrees in fine arts and education along with her background in animation and graphic design, she now researches and illustrates a variety of books ranging from picture books, creative nonfiction and chapter books. Cathy’s studio is in the foothills northwest of Fort Collins with a panoramic view of the peaks of Rocky Mountain National Park. She enjoys travel, hiking, and gardening, especially with native, drought-tolerant plants that encourage pollinators.

“Rather than a pilgrimage to the shrine of Saint Thomas in Canterbury, these voyagers take a cruise to the island of St. Thomas in the Caribbean. Their personal stories, told in rhyme, combine to form a witty and penetrating commentary on life in our time.” —Benedict H. Gross, Professor of Mathematics Emeritus, Harvard University

 

“Narrative verse in Josiah Hatch’s skilled hands turns out to open the doors to commentary on contemporary life and foibles, social satire, and good old-fashioned comedy.  Chaucer would chuckle. So will you.” — Robert Connor, Director and President, Emeritus, The National Humanities Center

 

“The book is truly intriguing and unique. The linguistic flow, the telling observations, and the apt illustrations—a panorama of the whole modern scene coming from that small collection of characters on a vessel.” — David Boyd, past Dean and Professor Emeritus Northeastern University; D.Phil, Oxford

 

“Josiah Hatch’s A Journey to St. Thomas is playful, clever, and compassionate. To me, his poetic writing reflects a keen respect for the value of the individual in human social life.“ — Ian McCallum, South African author of two anthologies of poetry, Wild Gifts (1999) and Untamed (2012),  and the award-winning book Ecological Intelligence

 

“The book is an explosion of intellect, imagination, and erudition controlled unerringly by a stunning empathy for the dangerously diverse narratives that occupy the minds of contemporary Americans. In poetry, this master craftsman has found the right medium. . . . Hatch’s rhyme captures more vividly than prose possibly could the author’s wit and the poignance of his characters’ tales. He is our Whitman and has produced a work of genius.’’  — Tom Farer, University Professor, University of Denver

 

“Josiah Hatch’s Journey to St. Thomas could not be more fun. Hip, instructive without being didactic, the tales tickle an old funny bone grown outworn by desuetude. All this and heroic verse.” – Bruce Ducker, author of Dizzying Heights: The Aspen Novel

 

“A tour de force. Read, recite, and enjoy.” – Bob Baron, author and publisher; past Chair, Wild Foundation

 

“Tales for our time, indeed: a stimulating mix of occupations representing much of the range of US society. Modern cruise passengers in the age of COVID as pilgrims à la Chaucer: it’s a clever conceit. Writing in iambic pentameter over nearly four hundred pages is no small feat, and Hatch has devised myriad entertaining rhymes to keep it going.” – Scott E. Casper, President of the American Antiquarian Society

 

.“A Journey to St. Thomas: Tales for Our Time is a  twenty-first-century reimagining of The Canterbury Tales. Like the original, it is . . . written in verse and consists of twenty-four tales, but not by pilgrims, rather by cruise passengers on a voyage to St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands. Ranging from an evangelical preacher to a social worker, they tell enthralling stories of mystery, suspense, magic, murder, horror, and comedy. Intended to be read aloud, their tales are ingenious and satirical, exposing at times the corruption, inequity, and hypocrisy of small-town America. Other stories are simply entertaining and fun.” — Andrew J. O’Shaughnessy, Professor of History, University of Virginia

 

"Eloquent, entertaining, thought provoking, memorable, and embellished with the B/W images of artist/illustrator Cathy Morrison, A Journey to St. Thomas: Tales for Our Time by Josiah Hatch III is a truly extraordinary literary event and will have a very special attraction for readers with an interest in epic poetry and satire." —https://www.midwestbookreview.com/