As befits its name, Shipwreck Library is a sprawling site, an eclectic labyrinth devoted to literature, film, music, and gaming. Featuring several thematically-grouped sub-sites, Shipwreck Library is divided into two major sections:
The Modern Word
Founded in in 1995 to explore and celebrate “difficult” works of twentieth-century literature, the Modern Word ran until about 2005. In 2015, I began extensively restoring, revising, and updating its content here at Shipwreck Library. I’ve been generously assisted by many wonderful writers and editors, both old hands and fresh faces. The following sites are now live:
James Joyce: The Brazen Head
The Brazen Head is dedicated to the life and works of James Joyce.
Jorge Luis Borges: The Garden of Forking Paths
The Garden of Forking Paths is the oldest English-language Borges site on the Web.
Thomas Pynchon: Spermatikos Logos
Spermatikos Logos is dedicated to exploring the works of Thomas Pynchon.
Franz Kafka: Das Schloss
Das Schloss is a perpetually uncompleted site about Franz Kafka. It’s only in the beginning phases of its restoration.
Samuel Beckett: Apmonia
My hope is to restore the Modern Word’s Samuel Beckett site in 2025–2026.
Reviews
This page collects book and film reviews written for the Modern Word.
Gaming Sites
Shipwreck Library also hosts the material I’ve written for various roleplaying games:
Deadlands 1876
Set in the American Centennial, this “Weird West” game blends elements of alternate history, horror, and steampunk.
Vampire: The Masquerade
Originally online as “New York by Night,” this fin de siècle campaign was online from 1995–2006. Much of it was published in various forms, and even translated into German.
Call of Cthulhu
A collection of material and campaign modifications for Chaosium’s Call of Cthulhu, set in the fictional worlds of H.P. Lovecraft.
White Leviathan
Set onboard a Kingsport whaling ship from 1844–1846, this epic Call of Cthulhu campaign is inspired by Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick. This project will likely occupy most of my creative energies from 2022-2025, and is being added piecemeal to Shipwreck Library in hope of eventual publication.