Hester Blum: Hardtack
“A staple of sea voyages and military campaigns for centuries, hardtack is exceptionally dry, solid, and designed to be non-perishable; it is not edible until soaked in liquid, and—if sailors’ jokes are any indication— not even then.”
Hester Blum is an Associate Professor of English at Penn State University, where she specializes in 19th-century American Literature and Oceanic Studies—the study of literary and cultural circulations defined by sea routes and flows rather than by political or terrestrial boundaries.
As a 38th Voyager, Blum is interested in the moments when nautical communities become literary communities, whether through shared reading, storytelling, narrative writing, performance, or contestation. Read more »
Eighty-five individuals from a wide range of disciplines and backgrounds sailed aboard the ship and participated in an unprecedented public-history project, using their own perspectives and talents to document their experiences. Meet the Voyagers »