Multi-date event: PEM Reads: Moby-Dick Read-a-Thon

Know before you go

Virtual event hosted on Zoom

Free

This event series is a part of PEM Reads.

Content warning: This book depicts violence, gore, animal killing, cannibalism, racism, xenophobia and death.

Join us on select Wednesday evenings over Zoom for an amazing, year-long PEM Reads journey through Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick! Set sail with Dan Lipcan, the Ann C. Pingree Director of the Phillips Library and curator of our current exhibition Draw Me Ishmael: The Book Arts of Moby Dick, and David Snider, Director of Learning and Community Engagement.

Each session of our voyage will feature a brief special presentation by Dan on the day’s reading and its connections to the exhibition, followed by a lively discussion facilitated by David. By June 18, 2025, we will finish the book together, exhausted but invigorated with new perspectives on this classic tale — and with the bragging rights that we have completed a Moby-Dick marathon! Participants who complete the book and attend all five sessions will win a special Moby-Dick-related prize from PEM. Join us for this free, fun, public event!

We will be using the Norton Critical Edition (3rd edition, 2018) of Moby-Dick, edited by Hershel Parker. Attendees are welcome to use their own copy or a library copy to participate in the reading, but please be advised that the page numbers will not match.

Series schedule:

Wednesday evenings, 6:30–8:00 pm ET

July 24, 2024 | Session 1: Introduction to the book, process and exhibition

October 9, 2024 | Session 2: Chapters 1–28, p. 1–104

January 15, 2025 | Session 3: Chapters 29–54, p. 104–204

March 12, 2025 | Session 4: Chapters 55–96, p. 205–314

June 18, 2025 | Session 5: Chapters 97–Epilogue, p. 314–410

Curious about the tradition of Moby-Dick marathons? Read about the New Bedford Whaling Museum’s annual event.

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