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GOING THE DISTANCE
Book-lovers and night owls show up for the Moby Dick
Marathon in New Bedford, Massachusetts.
By Dan Mathers
For some, it’s a literary event. For others, it’s a test
of will. Each January for the last five years, the New
Bedford Whaling Museum in New Bedford, Massachusetts,
has hosted a marathon, 25-hour reading of Herman
Melville’s Moby Dick. To celebrate the city’s whaling
heritage and the book that made it famous, roughly 150
readers, including politicians, professors, high school
students and regular Moby Dick fans, come to read
10-minute passages of the book.
The event draws an audience of all kinds of people, from
book-lovers who attend for a few hours, to
Melville-maniacs who get a kick out of listening to
their favorite story while challenging the bounds of
consciousness.
Early on the second day, and 19 hours into this year’s
marathon, the event was in full swing, even as the first
rays of orange sunlight peered into the museum’s
windows.
Standing at the podium facing the museum’s 59-foot model
whaleship, a woman read a passage while a sparse crowd
of hardy souls who had stayed through the night sat next
to the ship. Two women knitted as they read along in
their books, while behind them a man reading a copy of
Moby Dick began to doze off as he leaned over in his
chair. As his head nodded down, he suddenly opened his
eyes, looked around, and then walked to the back of the
room for another cup of coffee.
Among those in the audience at that early morning hour
was Peter Whittemore, the great-great-grandson of Herman
Melville.Although Whittemore has attended the event
since it first began, this was his first year staying
all night. “I figured if his descendants can’t stay, why
should anyone else,” he said.
As the sun rose in the sky, more and more people filed
into the museum, many to read, many just to listen.
Among those who came to read was Paul Langer. While
Langer hadn’t stayed all night, his deep love for the
book was apparent. “The novel is my favorite, as you can
see,” he said, holding up his copy of Moby Dick, its
covers worn thin.
Langer said he shouldn’t have even been at the marathon.
He had driven 60 miles from his home to read a passage,
and he still had to leave for France later in the day.
After reading, Langer walked toward the museum’s exit to
head home. But, when he heard someone say more readers
were still needed, he turned around. Sure, he could make
time to read one more passage. |
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