claim: Guns N' Roses is a Californian hard rock band.
evidence: Herman Melville -LRB- August 1 , 1819 -- September 28 , 1891 -RRB- was an American novelist , short story writer , and poet of the American Renaissance period .. short story writer. short story writer. novelist. novelist. poet. poet. American Renaissance. American Renaissance ( literature ). His best known works include Typee -LRB- 1846 -RRB- , a romantic account of his experiences in Polynesian life , and his whaling novel Moby-Dick -LRB- 1851 -RRB- .. Typee. Typee. Moby-Dick. Moby-Dick. His work was almost forgotten during his last thirty years .. His writing draws on his experience at sea as a common sailor , exploration of literature and philosophy , and engagement in the contradictions of American society in a period of rapid change .. He developed a complex , baroque style  : the vocabulary is rich and original , a strong sense of rhythm infuses the elaborate sentences , the imagery is often mystical or ironic , and the abundance of allusion extends to Scripture , myth , philosophy , literature , and the visual arts .. Scripture. Bible. Born in New York City as the third child of a merchant in French dry goods , Melville 's formal education ended abruptly after his father died in 1832 , leaving the family in financial straits .. New York City. New York City. Melville briefly became a schoolteacher before he took to sea in 1839 as a common sailor on a merchant ship .. In 1840 he signed aboard the whaler Acushnet for his first whaling voyage , but jumped ship in the Marquesas Islands .. whaler. whaler. Marquesas Islands. Marquesas Islands. After further adventures , he returned to Boston in 1844 .. His first book , Typee -LRB- 1846 -RRB- , a highly romanticized account of his life among Polynesians , became such a best-seller that he worked up a sequel , Omoo -LRB- 1847 -RRB- .. Typee. Typee. Omoo. Omoo. These successes encouraged him to marry Elizabeth Shaw , of a prominent Boston family , but were hard to sustain .. His first novel not based on his own experiences , Mardi -LRB- 1849 -RRB- , is a sea narrative that develops into a philosophical allegory , but was not well received .. Mardi. Mardi. Redburn -LRB- 1849 -RRB- , a story of life on a merchant ship , and his 1850 expose of harsh life aboard a Man-of-War , White-Jacket yielded warmer reviews but not financial security .. Redburn. Redburn. White-Jacket. White-Jacket. In August 1850 , Melville moved his growing family to Arrowhead , a farm near Pittsfield , Massachusetts , where he established a profound but short-lived friendship with Nathaniel Hawthorne , to whom he dedicated Moby-Dick .. Moby-Dick. Moby-Dick. Arrowhead. Arrowhead ( Herman Melville House ). Nathaniel Hawthorne. Nathaniel Hawthorne. Moby-Dick was another commercial failure , published to mixed reviews .. Moby-Dick. Moby-Dick. Melville 's career as a popular author effectively ended with the cool reception of Pierre -LRB- 1852 -RRB- , in part a satirical portrait of the literary scene .. Pierre. Pierre : or, The Ambiguities. His Revolutionary War novel Israel Potter appeared in 1855 .. Revolutionary War. American Revolutionary War. Israel Potter. Israel Potter. From 1853 to 1856 , Melville published short fiction in magazines , most notably `` Bartleby , the Scrivener '' -LRB- 1853 -RRB- , `` The Encantadas '' -LRB- 1854 -RRB- , and `` Benito Cereno '' -LRB- 1855 -RRB- .. The Encantadas. The Encantadas. Benito Cereno. Benito Cereno. These and three other stories were collected in 1856 as The Piazza Tales .. The Piazza Tales. The Piazza Tales. In 1857 , he voyaged to England , where he reunited with Hawthorne for the first time since 1852 , and then went on to tour the Near East .. Near East. Near East. The Confidence-Man -LRB- 1857 -RRB- , was the last prose work he published during his lifetime .. The Confidence-Man. The Confidence-Man. He moved to New York to take a position as Customs Inspector and turned to poetry .. Customs Inspector. Customs officer. poetry. poetry. Battle-Pieces and Aspects of the War -LRB- 1866 -RRB- was his poetic reflection on the moral questions of the Civil War .. Battle-Pieces and Aspects of the War. Battle-Pieces and Aspects of the War. Civil War. American Civil War. In 1867 his oldest child , Malcolm , died at home from a self-inflicted gunshot .. Clarel  : A Poem and Pilgrimage in the Holy Land , a metaphysical epic , appeared in 1876 .. In 1886 , his second son , Stanwix , died and Melville retired .. During his last years , he privately published two volumes of poetry , left one volume unpublished , and returned to prose of the sea  : the novella Billy Budd , left unfinished at his death , was published in 1924 .. poetry. poetry. Billy Budd. Billy Budd. Melville 's death from cardiovascular disease in 1891 subdued a reviving interest in his work .. The 1919 centennial of his birth became the starting point of the `` Melville Revival '' .. Critics discovered his work , scholars explored his life , his major novels and stories have become world classics , and his poetry has gradually attracted respect .. poetry. poetry