The 23rd annual Moby-Dick Marathon, held this year on January 4-6, will draw readers and enthusiasts from around the globe to the New Bedford Whaling Museum to travel back in time and accompany narrator, Ishmael, on his epic whaling journey and hunt for the elusive white whale.

Since 1995, the Whaling Museum has marked the anniversary of Melville’s 1841 departure from the Port of New Bedford and Fairhaven aboard the whaleship Acushnet, with this winter tradition. Melville would later pen Moby-Dick, publishing the famous novel in 1851. Moby-Dick Marathon weekend features the main 25-hour readathon — fueled by caffeine, warm local soups, theatrical performances, and a fondness for the author’s artistry — as well as two mini-marathons on January 5: a Portuguese-language reading of Tiago Patricio’s abridged Moby-Dick; and a children’s version by Classic Starts.
Activities begin on Friday, Jan. 4 at 5:30 p.m. with a dinner and an illustrated discussion with Melville Scholar Jennifer Baker of New York University, titled “Gender and the Man’s World of Moby-Dick.” Tickets for Friday evening’s dinner and discussion are $40 for Museum members and $50 for non-members. To reserve call 508/997-0046 x 100 or visit whalingmuseum.org.

The marathon itself begins with readers and audience members nestled alongside the world’s largest whaleship model, the Lagoda. The reading will move through multiple settings in the Museum, as well as across the street to the Seamen’s Bethel for Chapter 7, made famous by Melville in Moby-Dick as the “Whalemen’s Chapel.” Melville attended a service at the Seamen's Bethel shortly before he shipped out.

The remainder of the book is read non-stop in a gallery with 180-degree views of the fishing fleet and other vessels lining New Bedford Harbor. The only exception will be Chapter 40, Midnight Forecastle, which will be performed as a theatrical interpretation in the Museum’s Theater.

The entire marathon is peppered with fun Melville-inspired activities, including opportunities to chat with scholars from the Melville Society Cultural Project (MSCP) and even a chance to “stump” the scholars by testing their Melville knowledge. The Whaling Museum, in collaboration with The Melville Society, is the established home of the MSCP and the Melville Society Archive, which is housed in the Museum's Research Library. The archive constitutes one of the best collections of Melville scholarship and resources anywhere in the world.

The few hardy souls who brave the voyage by staying awake through all 136 chapters will receive a prize when the marathon comes to an end on Sunday.
All Saturday and Sunday events are free and open to the public, and the entire marathon will be livestreamed on YouTube and shown non-stop in the Museum’s theater during the reading. Visit www.whalingmuseum.org for more information.