Let a hundred flowers blossom - 2019

Other MDMs in 2019

Edited 6/26/19 - Dates for Rosenbach MDM added.
 
For those who may be hesitant to venture to New Bedford in January, here are a few alternatives to note.

April 26-28: The fourth annual Moby-Dick Marathon Reading at the Provincetown public library. This reading is spread over three days, so you can enjoy a bit of springtime in P'town. (Apologies for the late notice.)

June 7-9: Canio's Books in Sag Harbor returns with a multi-day MDM. A raft of events leads up to the marathon, including a talk by Mary K. Bercaw-Edwards on May 4.

July 31-August 1: The 34th(!) annual Moby-Dick Marathon at the Mystic Seaport Museum. This reading takes place aboard the whaleship Charles W. Morgan. Attendance is limited; call to reserve space if staying overnight. August 1 is Melville's 200th birthday—expect a special MDM at Mystic.

August 1-4 ?: The third annual Moby-Dick reading at Arrowhead Farm. This reading is spread over several days, and includes a hike up Monument Mountain. Details haven't been posted yet.

October ?: At the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park, promises a "uniquely San Franciscan" MDM. Last done here in 2018. Details not yet posted; see sfmobydickmarathon.org. Commemorates Melville's brief visit to San Fran in 1860.

November 9-10: The Rosenbach Museum repeats its annual (since 2017) MDM at the Independence Seaport Museum in Philadelphia. Watch the Rosenbach calendar for details. [Hat-tip to Prof.]

The November New York City MDM was bi-annual for a while, but appears to be in hibernation.

Missed the MDM at the Newberry Library, Jan. 19-20. This does not appear to be an annual event.

Missed the M-D Marathon Read of Virginia, March 21-22. Their Facebook page has links to an archived video stream. This does not appear to be an annual event.

The Nantucket Historical Association had an MDM in 2014. This past February they offered a two-hour Multi-lingual Moby-Dick Reading Event. A full MDM might return some year.

Let a hundred flowers blossom

Other MDMs in 2018

Edited 7/24/18 to include the San Francisco and Sag Harbor events.

For those who may be hesitant to venture to New Bedford in January, here are a few alternatives to note.

July 31-August 1: The 33rd(!) annual Moby-Dick Marathon at the Mystic Seaport Museum
This reading takes place aboard the whaleship Charles W. Morgan. Attendance is limited; call to reserve space if staying overnight.

August 2-5: The second annual Moby-Dick reading at Arrowhead Farm
This reading runs from 10am-5pm for three days, followed on day 4 by a hike up Monument Mountain before returning to Arrowhead to read the concluding chapters.

October 13-14: At the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park, promises a "uniquely San Franciscan" MDM. Last done here in 2015. Details at sfmobydickmarathon.org. Commemorates Melville's brief visit to San Fran in 1860.

Canio's Bookshop in Sag Harbor organized an annual MDM for many years, starting in 1983. The event went dormant for a decade or so, then resurfaced in 2015 and 2017. Will it return in 2019 for Melville's 200th birth year?

The November New York City MDM was bi-annual for a while, but appears to be in hibernation.

The Provincetown Public Library had its 3rd annual MDM in April, but I didn't get the memo. Maybe next year.

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.

"Loomings" locations, part 2

Circumambulate the city of a dreamy Sabbath afternoon. Go from Corlears Hook to Coenties Slip, and from thence, by Whitehall, northward.      - Chapter I, Loomings

Continuing a look at some of the locations mentioned in the first chapter of Moby-Dick. (See part 1.)

Coenties Slip — a surprising family connection

Coenties Slip, 1876 (original stereo view)

Coenties Slip area, 1841

Coenties Slip was a significant feature on the waterfront, cutting inland nearly two blocks. Sometime in the late 1800's it was filled in. Later, Front Street in this area was obliterated by office towers. Today Coenties Slip is largely covered by the New York Vietnam Veterans Memorial Park, with a heliport at what was the slip's mouth.


View Larger Map

Coenties Slip today, looking south across Water St. toward the river

The name "Coenties" has a history. You won't find it in any telephone directory, U.S. or Dutch. It is a contraction of the Dutch "Coenraedt en Antje"—Coenraedt and Antje. Coenraedt Ten Eyck (alternately Conraet, Coenraet) was born in Germany in 1617, and worked in Amsterdam as a shoemaker's helper. He married Maria Boele; their first child, Jacob C., was born in 1645. The family immigrated to New Amsterdam around 1651. Sometime later, Coenraedt married Antje (no last name found), and "worked as a tanner and shoemaker near his home [...] on his sizable property on what [became] Coenties Slip." (nycgovparks.org)

Now follow me down the generations, using information from the New York State Museum website.

1. Coenraedt's son, Jacob C., followed his dad into the shoemaker's trade, moved to Albany, and married Geertje Coeymans, the daughter of Albany-area "landholder." Their children "married well, prospered, and established the Ten Eyck family in Albany and in the upper Hudson region." Their first son, Coenradt, was born in 1678.
2. Coenradt trained as a silversmith, worked in Albany and New York City, married Gerritje Van Schaick, and had ten children. Their first child, Jacob C., was born in 1705.
3. This 1705 Jacob married Catharina Cuyler. They had son Abraham in 1743.
4. Abraham married Anna Lansing, and had son Jacob A. in 1772.
5. Jacob A. Ten Eyck married a certain Magdalena Gansevoort at the Albany Dutch church in April 1795. (Yes, that Gansevoort!)

Magdalena Gansevoort was the daughter of "Albany mainstay" Leonard Gansevoort. Leonard had a brother, Peter, "the hero of Fort Stanwix." Peter had a daughter, Maria Gansevoort—mother of our man, Herman Melville!

In short: Herman's first cousin once removed (Magdalena) was the wife of the great-great-great-grandson (Jacob A.) of the couple who gave Coenties Slip its name [step-GGGgrandson of Antje].

I wonder if Herman or his mother was aware of this distant connection to what was, during the time the Melvill family lived in lower Manhattan, a prominent local enterprise. (They moved to Albany when Herman was eleven years old.) The fact is too insignificant to be included in any of the Melville biographies I have at hand.

The final post in this series will look at the Whitehall in the quote above—Herman's nod to his mother's family?

(Note: The full map of 1841 Manhattan can be found at this outstanding Boston Public Library site.)

"Loomings" Locations, part 1

Circumambulate the city of a dreamy Sabbath afternoon. Go from Corlears Hook to Coenties Slip, and from thence, by Whitehall, northward.      - Chapter I, Loomings

We hear them in the opening minutes of every Moby-Dick Marathon—Corlears Hook, Coenties Slip, Whitehall. In one sentence, Melville mentions three well-known locations along New York's working waterfront. He also slips in a shout-out to his mother's family back in Albany, and names a spot that is tied to her family in a way even he may not have known about.

Corlears Hook

What I learned in my researches was a revelation to me—sawmills on the Hudson; north of Coenties Slip bowsprits run in over street traffic so you could touch the figureheads; the ship-chandlery shops north of Market Street (halfway between the Battery and Corlears Hook).
      - Melville Biography, An Inside Narrative; Hershel Parker; p.13

Check Google Maps—Market Street is still there, leading right down to the East River. The dockyards long gone (mostly), replaced by the FDR Drive.

Corlears Hook, 1841

According to the NYC Department of Parks & Recreation, "The Corlear family, 17th century Dutch landowners, controlled much of the property in this curving landmass." Jacobus von Corlaer (the original spelling) was the first Dutch owner of a "plantation" here (Wikipedia).

By Melville's time, the area had evolved into an isolated slum, frequented by seamen from the nearby waterfront, and prostitutes. Some sources claim that the term "hooker" derives from this neighborhood's name.

Today, Corlears Hook is memorialized by a small park.


View Larger Map

Corlears Hook Park, looking south toward the river

My next posts will look at the other locations mentioned in Loomings, Coenties Slip and Whitehall, and their (surprising) ties to Melville's family.

(Note: The full map of 1841 Manhattan can be found at this outstanding Boston Public Library site.)

No NYC M-D Marathon this year

Brooklyn's Word bookstore, which organized last November's "1st ever NYC marathon-style reading of Herman Melville's Moby-Dick," announced that the reading will be "on hiatus" this year. A second NYC marathon is scheduled for November 14-16, 2014.

For 2013, Word will "celebrate Melville and his leviathanic masterpiece" with an evening of "readings, screenings, performances, sing-a-longs, and more" on November 15 at 7 P.M.

Reports from the NYC "Marathon"

Credit: Postdlf at the English language Wikipedia

Family commitments kept me from the "1st Ever NYC Marathon-Style Reading" of M-D, but here are two post-mortems: one from the N.Y. Daily News, and another from the "online news magazine," Capital.

From these reports we get a glimpse of the effect of location on the character of a M-D marathon. It seems the NY event was more self-conscious (and celebrity-aware) than the New Bedford event, with audience members and readers (!) freely commenting peanut-gallery-style — something that is all but unthinkable at our marathon. This difference may be, as Lemuel posited in a previous post, a result of vestigial "Calvinist mind-habits" among New Englanders.

One striking detail: the NY audience felt free to bring cans of beer, and to open them audibly during the reading. I doubt the Whaling Museum staff, or audience, would tolerate such a breach of decorum. (I have heard that alcoholic grog was available at the New Bedford marathon in its early years, until too many locals began coming just for the "party.")

Organizers intend to make the NY reading an annual event. Next year's is scheduled for November 15-17.