All Astir “ . . . here they came to say their prayers, enjoy their free-and-easies, count their crackers from the cask, their doubloons from the keg, and measure their silks of Asia with long Toledos for their yard-sticks.” (The Encantadas, “Sketch Sixth: Barrington Isle and the Buccaneers”) S cenes of geniality abound in Melville’s works, a reminder that gatherings of the Melville Society borrow their splendor from a festive source. This “Extracts” records a number of such events, suggesting that even in a season of considerable turmoil—a national election and period of economic uncertainty—the Society has met in a spirit as jovial as (if less predatory than) that of the Barrington Isle buccaneers. First a warm welcome to our new officers: President Robert Milder, Treasurer Tony McGowan, Associate Secretary for Programs and Conferences Joseph Fruscione (working with Secretary Mary K. Bercaw Edwards), Murray Endowment Committee member Sanford E. Marovitz, MLA Program Chair Peter Norberg, and ALA Program Chair Maurice S. Lee (“Melville and the End(s) of Philosopy”). We bid a grateful farewell to Treasurer John Matteson after his years of superb service. The Melville Society Cultural Project convened in New Bedford, MA from July 30-August 1 for its semiannual activities at the New Bedford Whaling Museum. The group—Jennifer Baker, Mary K. Bercaw Edwards, Wyn Kelley, Timothy Marr, Christopher Sten, and Robert K. Wallace—joined John Garfield, acting director of the Museum since the departure of Anne Brengle in December 2007; Madelyn Shaw (now Vice President for Collections and Exhibitions); and Karen Allen (now Director of Programs and Operations) to discuss the search for a new director and the status of our affiliation and programs. At that point the Museum was actively continuing its search; since then James P. Russell has been appointed the new President, and the MSCP met him in January during the Moby-Dick Marathon. With new leadership, the Museum can now move forward with its plans for joint efforts with the MSCP, including a guided Melville tour through the collections and a Melville-themed exhibit in the Lagoda Room. After assessing our programming during this transition time at the Museum, the group decided to phase out the Melville Lyceum series and focus on two events that bring the largest audiences into the building: the MobyDick Marathon Melville Society Lecture (January) and the Melville Birthday Lecture (July). The Marathon lecturer this year, stepping in for new President Robert Milder, who is not available, was Wyn Kelley speaking on “Crossing C 2009 The Authors Journal compilation C 2009 The Melville Society and Wiley Periodicals, Inc. 100 L E V I A T H A N A J O U R N A L O F M E L V I L L E S T U D I E S E X T R A C T S the Line and Exploring the Equator in Moby-Dick.” We hope to offer other lectures throughout the year on a flexible schedule and in tandem with existing exhibits. The group had lunch with our partners in literacy projects: Erin B. Reilly from MIT’s Project New Media Literacies, Elizabeth Comeau from Spinner Publications in New Bedford, Sara Meierowitz, the new Director of Education at the Museum, and Laurie Robertson-Lorant from University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth School of Education. With Moby-Dick now named the official novel of Massachusetts (see Maurice S. Lee’s comments on this development in the Boston Globe, October 10, 2008), we have an ideal opportunity to participate in curriculum planning around Melville in Massachusetts schools. Later in the afternoon, the National Parks Service, led by Jennifer Gonsalves, hosted the MSCP and its community partners: Lee Heald from AHA! (Arts, History, and Architecture, a cultural organization), Lee Blake (University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth), Mark Smith (director of the new Ocean Explorium), Sara Meierowitz, Laurie Roberston-Lorant, and Madelyn Shaw. We discussed planning for future conferences and symposia to bring together different cultural organizations and the public. The day culminated with the arrival of H. Bruce Franklin, our distinguished guest for the Melville Birthday Lecture. His talk, “The Most Important Fish in the Sea,” drew on his new book of the same title (Island...