So that's where it went!

As noted back in 2011, Melville's "travel desk" was auctioned for $34,160 to an unnamed buyer. Now we know where it went.

An article in yesterday's New York Times, Sendak’s Estate: Debating Where the Things Go, mentions in passing some of the objects in Mr. Sendak's collection: works by Blake, Rembrandt, and Goya, as well as some Melville first editions and his traveling writing desk!

For more on the Sendak-Melville connection, see this post (and the comment).

New York Times editorial critical of Japan's Whaling

From NYT editorial, Japan is Back in the Hunt for Whales, Nov. 29:

Claiming purely “scientific” motives, Japan’s political leaders are cynically planning to resume whale hunting in the Southern Ocean, despite the International Court of Justice finding that the Japanese government regularly violated its obligations under the international ban against commercial whaling off Antarctica.

Read the entire article, with links.

Readers, get ready!

Reader sign-up for MDM19 opens in one week.
According to the Marathon page on the Whaling Museum website:

Beginning at midnight [Eastern time] on Tuesday, November 11, interested individuals may email or call to request a 7 to 10 minute reading slot.

New this year, a sponsorship scheme. "Selected readers" will be "challenged to gather sponsors to support their participation in the Moby-Dick Marathon. In return, sponsored readers become eligible for prizes based on the level of support they generate." As we've said before, the MDM is always evolving.

Note that if you're at the MDM during the "Graveyard Shift," and if the weather is bad, you usually have a good shot at the podium as a standby reader.

Lemuel's series, How to Be a Good MDM Reader, might be of interest.

Latest News from the Feejees - 9

photo by Bill Ebbesen

What's on Bruce's night stand?

Moby-Dick, of course! From an interview in yesterday's New York Times:

I just finished “Moby-Dick,” which scared me off for a long time due to the hype of its difficulty. I found it to be a beautiful boy’s adventure story and not that difficult to read. ...

Make sense who may.

NYC's Moby-Dick Marathon, Nov. 14-16

As previously noted, New York City has its own fledgling MDM. The second biennial "marathon-style" reading of M-D is coming to three Manhattan locations over the weekend of November 14-16 (marking the anniversary of the U.S. publication of Moby-Dick, 11/14/1851). Details are at mobydickmarathonnyc.org.

The list of readers includes big-city cats in publishing and entertainment: Nathaniel Philbrick, Matt Kish, Paul Bresnick, Virginia Heffernan, Touré, Joshua Ferris, Tiphanie Yanique, ...

The 2012 NYC MDM was well received, although different in character from our MDM. If you've been to both, post a Comment here.

Halfway to MDM19

At midnight tonight we'll be midway between MDMs—halfway to the next Moby-Dick Marathon, MDM19. (That is, if we assume MDM19 will follow the museum's pattern of launching the Marathon on the first weekend after New Year's Day.)

Clear the decks and mark your calendar.

Heed the advice of this post—take post-MDM Monday off, and book a room for the night of the close of the Marathon (1/4/14).  New Bedford and neighboring Fairhaven have a number of hotels and B&Bs. The fine Fairfield Inn & Suites is a three-block walk from the Whaling Museum. You'll spot some luminaries of Melville studies at breakfast there.

Lemuel and I will keep an eye on the Whaling Museum's website for definitive schedule info.

Update, 10/2/14 — The Whaling Museum's site confirms that MDM19 will be held on Jan. 2-4, 2015.

Latest News from the Feejees - 8

In his talk yesterday at the Morgan Homecoming, Fred Calabretta of Mystic Seaport mentioned that Ron Howard is completing a film of In the Heart of the Sea, Nathaniel Philbrick's retelling of the the sinking of whaleship Essex ("#1 Best Seller in Ship History" on Amazon). This has been public knowledge for a couple of years, but it was news to this blog.

imdb.com has a page with all the info. The U.S. release date is 13 March 2015. With direction by Ron Howard, it's sure to be a polished production that will put the posteriors in the seats, as they say. Will this high-profile film attract a crush of folks to MDM20 in January, 2016? I'm sure the wheels of preparation are in motion at the Whaling Museum.

Slightly related: A film version of Bill Bryson's A Walk in the Woods is scheduled for release in 2015/16. The Appalachian Long-Distance Hiker's Association is already discussing ways to aid/educate the clueless hordes that will hit the trail in the years following.