English teacher Mark Santa Maria has been teaching the Moby-Dick class for about 12 years. He says he would be perfectly content if it were the only class he taught. Yes, he loves Melville’s classic book that much. He was willing to participate in a 25 hour Moby-Dick Marathon, the world’s best known read-a-thon, which is a nonstop reading of the book done from the historic whaling port of New Bedford described in the book. Mark was among fishermen, professors, members of congress, clergy and other lovers of Moby-Dick. He read for the crowd in a 10-minute segment at 1:00 a.m. and was one of only eight participants who remained the entire 25 hours. His award was a book on arctic whales from The New Bedford Whaling Museum, the host of the 18th annual event. For Mark, it was not just his passion and familiarity of the literary masterpiece that kept him sustained and energized for over 24 hours; he also asked the community to make a financial pledge for each hour he remained at the read-a-thon to support the school.

“I hope that this is just the beginning of a trend,” said Mark, a member of the board of trustees. “If more teachers did something similar with a shared passion and connection to our students, we could support so many worthy causes such as scholarships, competitive faculty salaries, the proposed new health and fitness center and many others at CSW.”

Mark has read and studied Moby-Dick so many times that he said the number of readings has lost significance. However, last week’s 25-hour experience at the marathon was his first time reading the book cover to cover in one sitting, and he claims it gave him new perspective and insights. He also felt a lot more connected to the literature as he looked out the windows at the same glistening snow-covered cobblestone streets and harbor that Melville described in the opening of the book published in 1851. A portion of the reading was held in the nearby Seamen’s Bethel, made famous in the novel as the Whaleman’s Chapel. With a nod to the modern era, the museum livestreamed the event on their website.

Mark’s Moby-Dick class has been at capacity since it began. Its popularity spilled out into social media with its own Facebook page populated by students and alumni (He invites you to join if you have read the novel. “Friend” him and/or ask him to join S.O.S.S.G: Society of Shipmates and Salamander Giants). Mark likened the celebrated read-a-thon with Melville’s writing process: an intense, nonstop and fully-absorbed experience. Melville’s dedication yielded one of the world’s greatest novels, an individual’s pursuit of a whale strewn with a range of literary styles and references to Shakespeare, Dante, Milton and The Old Testament. Interestingly, it took many years after Melville’s death to bring about success for Moby-Dick.

“Every time you read the book, you get something wonderful and different,” shared Mark. “Just like each class at CSW, and yet there’s so much more to explore for all of us.”

You may continue to donate in honor of Moby-Dick for the rest of the school year on our website here. Just type in Moby Dick in the space labeled “In Honor of.”