Friday, January 3 – Sunday, January 5, 2020
Thank you one and all for making the 2020 Marathon the best ever!
Schedule of Events | Marathon Reading Timetable (pdf) | Reader Roster (pdf) | Photo Gallery | FAQ | Attendee Survey
Join us for the annual readathon of America’s most iconic novel, Moby-Dick. An experience you don’t want to miss, you’ll relive the famous, action-packed narrative and be transported back in time on the search for the elusive white whale. In addition to the main event, the Whaling Museum hosts two mini-marathons on January 4: a Portuguese-language reading of Tiago Patricio’s abridged Moby-Dick; and a children’s version by Classic Starts.
Illustration by David Blanchette
The 2020 Moby-Dick Marathon is dedicated to the late David Blanchette, a talented artist, illustrator, author, and long-time volunteer at the New Bedford Whaling Museum.
Friday, January 3
5:30 pm – 8:00 pm Moby-Dick Marathon Opening Night
Kick off this year’s Moby-Dick Marathon by enjoying a meal well-suited for hungry sailors and a lively presentation by Mary K. Bercaw Edwards, Melville Scholar, titled Herman Melville: Sailor, Writer, Metaphysician, followed by a Q&A.
Ticketed Event: Sold Out
Saturday, January 4
From 9:30 am Saturday to 1 pm Sunday*
All Saturday and Sunday events are free and open to the public. Guests may come and go as needed through the Museum’s main entrance.
9:30 am Stump the Scholars
Bring your most challenging Melville-related questions and try to stump Melville scholars. Cook Memorial Theater (Lower Level)
10 am Children’s Mini-Marathon
Harbor View Gallery (Upper Level)
11:30 am Extracts
Read by members of the Melville Society Cultural Project. Bourne Building (Main Level)
12 noon The Main Attraction
Bourne Building (Main Level)
1:30 pm Father Mapple’s Sermon
Seamen’s Bethel (Reserved seating at Bethel and livestream in Cook Memorial Theater)
2:15 pm Main Marathon Continues
Harbor View Gallery (Upper Level)
2:30 pm Chat with Melville Scholars
Wattles Family Gallery (Lower Level)
3 pm Portuguese Marathon
Bourne Building (Main Level)
5 pm – 9 pm Cousin Hosea’s Chowder House
FREE hot chowder, and local beer for sale. Jacobs Family Gallery (Lower Level)
7 pm Midnight on the Forecastle (chapter 40)
Performed by Culture*Park. Cook Memorial Theater (Lower Level)
Sunday, January 5
8 am The 20th-Hour Treat
Get fueled up for the home stretch. San Francisco Room (Upper Level)
9:30 am Chat with Melville scholars
Wattles Family Gallery (Lower Level)
1 pm Epilogue
The final words are read and prizes are given out to the hearty souls that make it through the entire night. Harbor View Gallery (Upper Level)
*Times are approximate and are dependent on the reading pace of the Marathon.
Live streaming of the Marathon began January 4 and ended January 5.
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