Friday, April 28 - Sunday, April 30 on the Library’s Second Level

The sixth annual Provincetown Public Library Moby-Dick Marathon Reading returns this April 2023. Joining New Bedford, MA, Mystic, CT, and New York City, this Moby-Dick Marathon celebrates Provincetown’s significant whaling heritage, as well as its history as the nation’s oldest continuous art colony.  Published in 1851, Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick chronicles the obsessive quest of Ahab, captain of the whaler Pequod, for revenge on a massive white whale responsible for destroying his ship and severing his leg at the knee during a previous voyage.  The three-day marathon reading of this nineteenth century masterwork will be held at the Provincetown Library on the starboard side of the Rose Dorothea Model.  Readings will begin promptly at 10:00 am on Friday, April 29.  Please arrive by 9:50 am for seating. The full weekend reading schedule is as follows: 

Friday, April 28: 10 am to 5 pm
Saturday, April 29: 10 am to 10 pm
Sunday, April 30: 10 am to 5 pm

Provincetown holds a rich whaling history dating back to the early 18th century when skilled Portuguese seamen settled at Land’s End where they started families, manned ships, and became captains of their own vessels.  By 1870, the whaling industry had created a since-unrivaled era of prosperity in Provincetown, then ranking as one of the richest towns in Massachusetts. In the century between 1820 and 1920, more than 160 vessels were outfitted from Provincetown, ranking her third in the U.S. in voyages launched (902).

Uniting members of Provincetown’s literary, art, theater, and academic communities, the event will bring together over 110 participants at the Provincetown Library to read Melville’s classic work aloud throughout a total of more than 24 hours. Passages of roughly five pages each are read throughout the weekend by the community, visitors, library staff, trustees and Melville enthusiasts. Admission to the Marathon is free. 

Those interested in participating as readers in this year’s iteration of the Provincetown Public Library Moby-Dick Marathon Reading are encouraged to email ptownmobymarathon@gmail.com