:focal(2932x2011:2933x2012)/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer_public/3f/54/3f54c648-3cbe-4b17-8e45-798c1122b5b9/gettyimages-2192150871.jpg)
Two women follow along during the Moby Dick reading marathon at the New Bedford Whaling Museum.
Craig F. Walker/The Boston Globe via Getty Images
Every year, throngs of book lovers gather for one Moby Dick reading marathon at the Whaling Museum in New Bedford, Massachusetts – and this year’s event attracted the largest crowd yet.
Nearly 2,500 people from 37 states and countries – including Australia, Brazil and Sweden – came to the lecture, as Amanda McMullen, president and CEO of the museum, tells Ben Berke about the Public Radio.
“It’s the highest ever, and by far the highest ever,” said McMullen, who estimates the next highest attendance in 2020 was about 1,750 people.
Michael J. Bobbitt, executive director of the Mass Cultural Council, reads from the stern of a half-scale model of an original whaling ship. Craig F. Walker/The Boston Globe via Getty Images/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer_public/06/4d/064da6f8-dddc-4555-a1d6-30688a7b426b/gettyimages-2192150916.jpg)
The story of Captain Ahab’s obsessive quest to take revenge on the white whale that bit off his leg is an American classic and has been read in countless classrooms since its publication in 1851. The novel begins with the narrator, Ishmael, arriving in New Bedford. the hope of participating in a whale watching voyage – parallel to author Herman Melville’s own experience.
“The city itself is perhaps the most beautiful place to live in all of New England,” says Ishmael. “Nowhere in all of America will you find more patrician houses; parks and gardens more lush than in New Bedford.”
Earlier this month, people gathered to listen Moby Dick in the same city for 25 hours. The readers followed a strict schedule as they tried to get through the novel.
“The whole thing is read out loud, every word, every page, from multiple places in the museum and from Seamen’s Bethel,” said McMullen, a historic church on the water. NBC 10 NewsKennedy Buck.
In addition to the record-breaking attendance, officials also announced at the event that New Bedford is constructing a building statue in honor of Melville. The project is estimated to cost $300,000.
A proposed statue of Melville shows waves gathering around the author’s feet, while a whale’s ribs rise with the water. City of New Bedford/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer_public/3b/72/3b7265b1-f867-449e-b9db-99bb8a0a58b6/melville-social.jpg)
“This is essentially a way for New Bedford to declare its identity, declare something great about its past and show the world that this is an important place,” he says. Jon Mitchellthe mayor of New Bedford, tells the Public Radio.
The eight-foot tall likeness of the famous author will stand in the garden of Seamen’s Bethel. Sculptor Stefanie Rocknak‘s design shows Meville with his hand in his pocket; at the author’s feet the waves crash and the ribs of a whale rise from the water. At the foot of the statue, visitors will find quotes from the novel.
The statue is estimated to take 12 to 15 months to complete. Rocknack’s design was chosen from 41 proposals.
“The opportunity to celebrate Herman Melville in the city that inspired the most famous literary work in the English language attracted top-notch artists from across the country,” Mitchell said in a statement. statement. “As the selection committee recognized, Stefanie Rocknak’s vision for the statue is compelling and timeless. It will be a source of pride for New Bedford residents and visitors for generations.”
