South Street Seaport Museum presents Sailing Without Ahab

Join the South Street Seaport Museum for a free poetry reading, Sailing Without Ahab, on Sunday, July 28, 2024 at 2pm aboard the 1885 tall ship Wavertree located at Pier 16 (Fulton and South Streets). seaportmuseum.org/sailing-without-ahab

Claim your space to attend this unique poetry reading and book talk with author Steve Mentz who has reimagined Herman Melville’s great American classic Moby-Dick, without the monomaniacal quest of Captain Ahab. In this event, we will join Mentz as he charts a new course through a familiar epic aboard Pequod, the fictional 19^thcentury Nantucket whaling ship that, in this retelling, sails without its captain.

Together we will journey through uncharted literary waters and explore Melville’s masterpiece in bold new light through a reading of selections from this cycle of 138 poems––one for each chapter of the original novel. These poems dive into oceanic chaos without the stabilizing focus of the Nantucket captain on the white whale, guided instead by waywardness and curiosity. We will hear how, directionless, these poems reach out to touch the oceanic expanse and depth in a meaningful way.

Join this event to relinquish the original goals and obsessions captured in Moby-Dick and enjoy this poetic rethinking of a literary triumph. A Q&A and book signing with the author will follow the reading, and books will be available to purchase at the event.

Advanced registration is suggested but walk-ups will be accommodated as possible.

About the Author

Steve Mentz is a Professor of English at St. John’s University, teaching Shakespeare, literary theory, and the “blue humanities” with a focus on environmental questions. Responding in his research and teaching to ecological crisis has brought his work beyond Shakespeare to embrace oceanic culture, environmental philosophy, and artistic performances. He often presents his work to national and international audiences and has received prize fellowships and grants from such bodies as the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Folger Shakespeare Library, the John Carter Brown Library, and the National Maritime Museum in London. His work includes An Introduction to the Blue Humanities (2023), Ocean (2020) and a poetry chapbook, “Swim Poems” (2022).

About the South Street Seaport Museum

The South Street Seaport Museum, located in the heart of the historic seaport district in New York City, preserves and interprets the history of New York as a great port city. Founded in 1967, the Museum houses an extensive collection of works of art and artifacts, a maritime reference library, exhibition galleries and education spaces, working 19th century print shops, and an active fleet of historic vessels that all work to tell the story of “Where New York Begins.” seaportmuseum.org

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