Twenty-four hours is a long time to do any one thing, but for the classics department, it is just enough time to complete the annual Homerathon event.

On Oct. 27, Homerathon Five will kick off at Grand Valley State University. The Homerathon is an event that occurs bi-annually on campus.

At each Homerathon, GVSU students, faculty, staff and community members come together for a continuous reading of one of Homer’s epic poems. Homerathon Five will feature a continuous reading of Homer’s epic poem, “The Odyssey.”

Charles Ham, an assistant professor in the classics department, is involved with the event.

“’The Odyssey’ is one of the great masterpieces of Western literature and can be connected to subsequent journey narratives in literature and other media such as TV and film,” Ham said. “This year, we’ve chosen a Star Trek theme for the Homerathon since the members of the Starship Enterprise, like Odysseus, explored new worlds and civilizations on their journey and went where no – or very few – humans had gone before.”

The event is made possible by support from the provost’s office and several other offices and colleges from across the university.

On Wednesday from noon to 1 p.m., President Haas, Provost Davis and a number of other members of the GVSU administration will read a section from the poem.

“We’re honored and delighted that they will be participating in the event and that they have been such staunch supporters of it,” Ham said.

“Needless to say, we’re very excited to be presenting another Homerathon,” he said. “It’s a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the vibrancy of classics at GVSU and to celebrate one of the great works of literature in the Western tradition.

“It’s also a great opportunity for people from across the university to work together to achieve something great. It’s quite a task to perform the entirety of a poem thousands of lines long, and we couldn’t do it without the enthusiastic support and participation of the GVSU community.”

Homerathon Five will begin at 6:30 p.m. in the Mary Idema Pew Library Multipurpose Room. Lee Van Orsdel, GVSU dean of university libraries, will give a welcoming address. Following this, Ruth Scodel, professor of Greek and Latin at the University of Michigan, will deliver the keynote address, “Reading Other Minds in the Odyssey.”

From 8:45 p.m. to 10 p.m., Homerathon Five will officially commence with the reading of “The Odyssey” at the Zumberge Pond, weather permitting. This section of the reading will include the “Invocation of the Muse,” “Athena Inspires the Prince” and “Telemachus Sets Sail.” The Homerathon will continue in the Cook-DeWitt Center lounge from 10 p.m. to midnight.

On Oct. 28 from midnight to 1 a.m. a scavenger hunt will take place. Participants will find clues to the mythical land of the Phaeacians scattered around campus. The Homerathon will resume until 8 a.m. in the Cook-DeWitt Center lounge. Additionally, the film “O Brother, Where Art Thou?,” which is loosely based on Homer’s poem, will be shown.

The Homerathon will take a brief interlude in the morning at Zumberge Pond for the sunrise. This portion of the event is titled “Invocation of Rosy-Fingered Dawn.” Following this, the Homerathon will resume until noon in the Mary Idema Pew Library Exhibition Space.

The Homerathon will then move back to the Multipurpose Room where it will conclude at 3 p.m.

Students who attend Scoldel’s talk or the reading of the poem will receive credit for LIB 100.