Powell’s, which was in the news yesterday for all the wrong reasons is yet again showing book-lovers who flock it to from all over the world, why it is an invaluable resource for those who who love and cherish books. Starting today at 5 pm, a whole retinue of writers , artists and other fans will embark on a 24-hr reading of the entire text of Moby-Dick. The marathon reading has been a tradition at Massachusetts’ New Bedford Whaling Museum for fifteen years now, but this is the first time anyone’s tried it in this notoriously wet city’s drizzliest month.According to Jeff Baker, writing in the Oregonian, the idea …

… to read Moby-Dick out loud, in its entirety, came from Justin Hocking, the executive director of the IPRC, who borrowed it from the New Bedford Whaling Museum. The Massachusetts museum has staged annual readings of Moby-Dick for 15 years and now builds a weekend of Melville-related events around the book. The IPRC’s goals are more modest but come from the same adventurous spirit.

Hocking himself explains:

I’m a huge fan of the book and have been for years, to the point of being a fanatic,I put out a chapbook a few years ago about my Moby-Dick obsession, and I just thought this would be a fun thing to do.

Local authors, including Portland book luminary Kevin Sampsell, who while not working at Powell’s also runs the great little indie press Future Tense, is one of the 135 readers schedule (one for each chapter) — as is Arthur Bradford, author of Dogwalker. The first five hours will take place place in the bookstore and then the party proceeds to a private house, open only to members of the IPRC.  The IPRC also is sponsoring an art show of work inspired by the book. Powell’s will have Melville’s books for sale, and Hocking’s Beach 90th, a chapbook about his adventures in New York, will also be available. The title is a reference to Rockaway Beach, which is mentioned in Moby-Dick:

Why did the poor poet of Tennessee, upon suddenly receiving two handfuls of silver, deliberate upon whether to buy him a coat, which he sadly needed, or invest his money in a pedestrian trip to Rockaway Beach?