If you’ve ever been to Bloomsday at The Rosenbach, you know how exciting (and slightly surreal) it can be to hear a book read aloud over many, many hours. Bloomsday 2020 is still months away but for those craving the opportunity to test their literary endurance, we have just the thing! We are teaming up with the Independence Seaport Museum again this year for our 2019 Moby-Dick Marathon on November 9-10 to celebrate Herman Melville’s iconic novel and the adventures of 19th-century seafarers.
Over 200 readers will read 135 chapters starting at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday and continue straight through the wee hours until Sunday afternoon. With careful planning and lots of built-in buffers (for our more meandering readers ☻), the reading should conclude around 3:00 p.m. on Sunday. You can see the full schedule and list of our intrepid readers here.
The Moby-Dick Marathon is free and open to everyone! New readers and weather-worn Melville enthusiasts alike are welcome to join in the fun. Alongside the reading there will be activities for the whole family including a show-and-tell with real historical artifacts, a scrimshaw-making craft for kids, a squid dissection lab project for those with hearty stomachs, and much more. You can see the full schedule here.
Don’t miss out – it’s going to be a WHALE of a good time! Get your tickets now.