PEM Reads: Moby-Dick Read-a-Thon

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.
Grab your Tickets Here: https://www.pem.org/events/pem-reads-a-months-long-moby-dick-marathon
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.
About the Hosts:
David Snider
David Snider oversees all of PEM’s learning and community engagement efforts, including public programming, internships and fellowships, community partnerships and educational programming from preschool to postgraduate studies. His focus is to develop an array of inclusive offerings that engage visitors of all ages and backgrounds and to cultivate partnerships with schools, universities, museum volunteers and community organizations at the local, national and international levels. He holds an M.F.A. from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts and earned his bachelor’s in English Literature and Russian Language from Dickinson College, magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa.
Dan Lipcan
Dan Lipcan (the Ann C. Pingree Director of PEM’s Phillips Library) leads a talented staff charged with preserving and sharing the library’s extensive collection of books, archives, ships’ journals, broadsides, photography and ephemera. Together they work to transform the highly-respected research library — with its rich and varied global collections — into an innovative and active intellectual hub that supports the overall mission of the museum. Lipcan has curated or co-curated a number of exhibitions, including several on the Salem Witch Trials. He holds a B.A. in Studio Art (Printmaking) from Allegheny College, an M.L.S. from Queens College–CUNY, and in 2017 was selected to participate in the Columbia Business School Executive Development Program at The Met. He is a member of the Grolier Club and the Art Libraries Society of North America.