Around Town With Phil: We Account the Whale Immortal

In his upcoming lecture on Friday, May 18 at the New Bedford Whaling Museum, broadcaster, curator, author, and filmmaker Philip Hoare poses the question, “When (Herman) Melville declared in Moby-Dick, 'We account the whale immortal', was he making a presumptive statement--or looking forward to our fast-changing world, and what lies beyond its horizon?"

Drawing on his new book, RisingTideFallingStar, Hoare will look at the way humans relate to the sea's natural history--its whales, its birds, its tides, its extremes--and what these stories say about us.

He will present an exciting array of anecdotes, ideas, and images based on his wide and often extreme experiences, such as swimming with sperm whales in the Azores and Sri Lanka.

The evening will include a screening of the short film Killers in Paradise, which features a remarkable meeting of sperm and killer whales in the Indian Ocean.

The cost to attend “We Account the Whale Immortal” is $10 for museum members, $15 for non-members. The lecture begins at 7 p.m., and is preceded by a reception at 6 p.m. To register, call (508) 997-0046 ext. 100, or visit WhalingMuseum.org.

Hoare's book Leviathan or, The Whale won the 2009 BBC Samuel Johnson Prize for non-fiction. It was followed in 2013 by The Sea Inside. His new book, RisingTideFallingStar, is published by the University of Chicago Press.

An experienced broadcaster, curator and filmmaker, he wrote and presented the BBC film The Hunt for Moby Dick, filmed in New Bedford, Nantucket, and the Azores, and he also directed three films for BBC’s Whale Night. He is Professor of Creative Writing at the University of Southampton, UK, and curator of the Moby-Dick Big Read, a free online audio version of Melville's book, which has received five million hits to date. He is also Special Ambassador for Whale and Dolphin Conservation.

Around Town With Phil is brought to you as a public service by Flagship Insurance.