Moby Dick is at the core of my work, and I know that it always will be. Sometimes it feels very close to the surface, and sometimes it is buried deep, but always there. At the moment it is pretty much on at the surface. My residency at Burton Constable Hall (home to a skeleton mentioned in Moby Dick) is partly responsible, but equally culpable was the Moby Dick Unabridged reading of the book that I participated in last weekend at the Southbank Centre.

A familiar face at Moby Dick Unabridged, Southbank Centre, October 2015

Coming back to the text reawakens my love for the actual writing and the structure of Melville’s prose is brought into sharp focus when you are going to be reading it aloud in an auditorium! Reading it aloud always reminds me of the humour in Moby Dick, and his wonderful use of language. More specifically it made me think about the bits I practiced reading and reminded me of imagery that I had in the past parked (or should that be berthed?) for later investigation. Expect to see quadrants and other maritime navigational tools turning up in my work in the near future!

The event was also great for the opportunity it gave me to meet other people with a passion for the book. Not a thing that happens to me very often in the UK. I am therefore extremely grateful to the organisers and other participants.

Caroline Hack reading Chapter 119, The Candles at Moby Dick Unabridged, Southbank Centre, October 2015. Photograph @Twemlow

There are some more photos on my facebook page here and the whole thing was recorded and can be accessed here (if you want to hear my bit I read half of Chapter 119, track 120).