Treasurer's Report, 2008

Chowder Executive Secretary Report, 2008 T he Melville Society events of 2008 began with the New Bedford Whaling Museum’s annual marathon reading of Moby-Dick on January 3–4. Immediately preceding the lecture, incoming 2008 president Carolyn Karcher presented a wonderful talk on “The Pleasures of Reading Moby-Dick.” On May 23, Steven Olsen-Smith chaired a thought-provoking session on “Moby-Dick: Genesis, Influence, and Intention” at ALA in San Francisco. John Cyril Barton spoke on “‘An Unquestionable Source?’: Melville’s ‘The TownHo ’s Story’ and W. B. Stevenson’s Twenty Years’ Residence in South America”; Jonathan A. Cook on “Moby-Dick and Job: Essential Connections”; and Benjamin Griffin on “The Documentary Hypothesis and Moby-Dick.” On December 29, Christopher D. Castiglia chaired a stimulating session on “Melville and His Critics” at MLA in San Francisco. Presenting Melville’s critics in roughly chronological order, Hester Blum spoke on “‘No Life You Have Known’; or, Melville’s Contemporary Critics”; Wyn Kelley on “‘Out of the Bread Box’: Eleanor Melville Metcalf and the Melville Legacy”; Jay Grossman on “‘Autobiography Even in the Loose Sense’: Matthiessen and Melville”; and Donald E. Pease on “C. L. R. James’s Moby-Dick and the Testimony of Nonsurvivors.” Newly elected officers of the Melville Society include President Robert Milder, Treasurer Tony McGowan, Associate Secretary for Programs and Conferences Joseph Fruscione, MLA Program Chair Peter Norberg, ALA Program Chair Maurice Lee, and Murray Endowment Committee member Sanford E. Marovitz. Elizabeth Duquette was appointed to serve on the Nominating Committee by outgoing president Carolyn Karcher. Thanks go to the Nominating Committee—Sam Otter (chair), Wendy Stallard Flory, and Steven OlsenSmith —for putting together such a wonderful slate of officers. And deepest thanks to John Matteson for his hard work and strong commitment to the Melville Society during his three years as Treasurer. Matthew Cordova Frankel won the Cohen Prize award for “Tattoo Art: The Composition of Text, Voice and Race in Melville’s Moby-Dick,” published in ESQ. Thank you very much C  2009 The Authors Journal compilation C  2009 The Melville Society and Wiley Periodicals, Inc. 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 97 E X T R A C T S to the Cohen Prize Committee: Ralph James Savarese (chair), Robin Grey, and Geoffrey Sanborn. The New Bedford Whaling Museum encountered tough times financially during the past year, but under new director James Russell is doing much better. Despite the hard times, the Melville Society Cultural Project (MSCP) was able to host Rute Beirante from Portugal as a Melville Society Archive Fellow. This fellowship gives each scholar a stipend of $500 for travel, meals, or other living expenses, plus free lodging in the scholars’ quarters. Dennis Marnon of the Houghton Library, Harvard University, advised MSCP on the work needed to preserve the Archive—that work is now nearly completed. The Archive continues to grow and now ranks, especially since it is housed within the New Bedford Whaling Museum Library, as one of the best resources for the study of Melville. Robert D. Madison donated a collection of most of the known sources for Melville’s poetry: not the exact books owned by Melville himself, but the same edition and printing. As part of the book donation program, six boxes of books were mailed to the National Library of China. The Melville Society is looking forward to the upcoming conference in Jerusalem, “Melville and the Mediterranean,” to be held June 17–21. Thanks to Basem Ra’ad, Hilton Obenzinger, and Timothy Marr for all their hard work planning the conference. —Mary K. Bercaw Edwards Executive Secretary Treasurer’s Report, 2008 T he year just past has been recognized as the worst for the American economy since the Great Depression. One might expect unprecedented weakness in the Society’s financial situation. However, thanks to the prudent investment philosophy that was in place when I took this position three years ago—a philosophy that I have done my best to continue— 2008 was not as calamitous for the Society’s...