2026 Centenary EventsDuring 2026 the JBS is celebrating the centenary of Jonathan Bayliss's 1926 birth. The special events - some online and some in-person, the bulk of them free and open to the public - are listed on this page's calendar. Email NoticesIf you would like to be kept up-to-date about JBS activities, please subscribe to the JBS email list, as the calendar on this page doesn't provide complete information. (Click on an event name for a few details, including how to register.) Zoom Reading GroupWe welcome all who are interested to attend our friendly online reading group. No prior knowledge of Bayliss's writing is required. Currently each session is devoted to a chapter in the novel Gloucesterbook, which takes place in the "Cape Gloucester" of the 1960s. The hour usually includes an overview of the chapter followed by passages read aloud by volunteers. Register via the calendar on this page to receive a link for the upcoming monthly session. Annual ConferencesSince 2019, the JBS has held an annual conference in September (see list below) on subjects that Jonathan Bayliss found of interest. Our next conference will be held in Gloucester in September 2027. Details to be announced in early 2027. JBS YouTube ChannelThe Jonathan Bayliss Society YouTube site contains recordings of many past JBS conferences and other events. | Events Calendar |
2026 Centenary Events to Date
July 2026 - Gorton’s of Gloucester: A legacy of sailing ships and fish, and a vision of Heroic architecture
Our July event was an illustrated talk held online by architectural historian Wendy Frontiero about the Gloucester campus of Gorton's of Gloucester. Bayliss worked with the well-known architect Eduardo Catalano on its headquarters building when he was an executive at Gorton's during the 1960s and early 1970s.
June 2026 - Oak Grove Cemetery Walking Tour
On June 6, Courtney Richardson led a guided tour of Oak Grove Cemetery, located adjacent to 165 Washington Street, where Bayliss lived between 1956 and 1968. The cemetery is called Acorn Pasture Cemetery in Bayliss's Gloucester novels.
April 2026 - Oaks, the Tower, and Bayliss at Mt. Auburn Cemetery
On April 17, a group met at Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, where Bayliss and his mother's family's graves are located. David Bowditch, Bayliss's nephew, gave a short talk about the relatives buried in the family plot, following which Mount Auburn's Dennis Collins led a tour of a few of the cemetery's oldest oak trees (oaks are frequently mentioned in Bayliss's novels, and Bayliss played under the cemetery's oaks as a child). Most of the group then climbed the 62-foot Washington Tower and were lucky to see Boston for a few minutes before mist obscured the view. Back at ground level, the weather improved and there was time to wander around Mount Auburn's beautiful grounds and check out some of the famous monuments.
March 2026 - Herman Melville and His Admirers Bayliss and Olson
Our March 20 program at Harvard's Houghton Library included short talks about the enthusiasm Jonathan Bayliss and Charles Olson shared for the works of Herman Melville. On display were precious materials from Houghton's archives, including selected Bayliss and Olson materials as well as a journal Melville kept in 1857 while traveling by ship through the Mediterranean to Palestine. After an introduction by Leslie Morris, Houghton's Gore Vidal Curator of Modern Books and Manuscripts, there were talks by Paul McGeary, a founding JBS member ("Beyond the Veil: Bayliss's Dromenology and Melville's Unfathomable Sea," read aloud by Michael O'Leary); John Day, JBS Board member ("Melville, Olson, Harvard"); and Wyn Kelley, a Melville scholar recently retired from MIT ("'To See and Touch the Stones You Live Among': Jonathan Bayliss as Reader of Melville"). Michael O'Leary read and sang excerpts from Melville's very long poem Clarel. The three talks will appear in the Bayliss Society Notebook sent to JBS members in September 2026.
February 2026 - The Seagull: Bayliss's Favorite Bird
Seagulls, sometimes referred to as "angels," are mentioned scores of times in Bayliss's works. On February 10, 2026, the JBS hosted an online program, "The Seagull: Bayliss's Favorite Bird," with illustrated talks by Martin Ray and Trina Smith. The program was videotaped a few days later and is available on YouTube.
January 2026 - The Gloucesterman Adventure: Jonathan Bayliss and Schooner Adventure at 100
On January 26, 2026, the JBS joined with Schooner Adventure, a Gloucester nonprofit, to present an hour-long program at Sawyer Free Library about Gloucester's flagship, the schooner Adventure, which was launched in 1926, the year Bayliss was born. Schooner Adventure's director, Emily Pearce, presented an illustrated history of Adventure and discussed its continuing importance today. Passages about schooners from Bayliss's fiction were read by JBS Board member John Day and Schooner Adventure Board member Ken Riaf.