September – December, 2019. For the 10th consecutive year, the National Endowment for the Arts has chosen Staten Island OutLOUD to present The Big Read in our community! From September through December 2019, we are proud to present a series of events exploring Nathaniel Philbrick’s fascinating story of the 1820 wreck of the whaleship Essex. It inspired Herman Melville as he began work on “Moby Dick”.