February 4th, 2010
When we reached out to Bob Spoo back in September, we didn’t expect a reply any time soon. He’s a busy fella. Law professor at the University of Tulsa College of Law, practicing attorney, legal advisor to the James Joyce Quarterly, and author of scholarly law review articles, he’s a got a lot on his plate. So we were grateful to receive a near immediate reply from him expressing the same kind of bemused, excited interest that grips many of the visitors to our site. We were even happier when he followed up his response with a copy of his latest law review article, personally signed with a note of celebration for the advent of our little undertaking.
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February 2nd, 2010
James Joyce was famously superstitious about dates, and in particular his birthday. [Richard Ellmann helpfully includes a heading in the index of the biography: "Joyce, James: birthday important to" with no less than 11 separate entries.] When struggling with Finnegans Wake, he came to believe that it might be finished by a younger Irish writer named James Stephens, partly because Stephens shared the same birthday. Curiously, Ayn Rand and Farrah Fawcett also share February 2 as a birthday–what they might have done with the Wake, either individually or jointly, must be left to speculation.
As Joyce was finishing Ulysses, he became obsessed with the idea that the book had to be finished for his fortieth birthday–2/2/22. He put his printer, Maurice Darantiere, through hell to make sure that at least one or two copies would make it to him in time, and indeed, two were delivered to him at his birthday luncheon that day.
How should one celebrate the old man’s birthday (we like to call him the old man)? Write something in the morning. Read something in the afternoon. Drink a good bit of white wine, then some Jamesons. Read some Ulysses out loud, perhaps even from a webcomic! Dance a little spider dance. That’s what we’ll be doing…
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January 23rd, 2010
Thanks to Horace Rumpole for mentioning and linking to us on Metafilter. It has sparked quite a debate – which we absolutely LOVE!
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January 22nd, 2010
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Mulligan has been waiting for a chance to perform his masterpiece, the “Ballad of Joking Jesus.” More is coming in the next few pages.
The ballad is one of many things in Ulysses not written by James Joyce. It was written by the real-life inspiration for Buck Mulligan, Oliver St. John Gogarty. The ballad even has its own Wikipedia page. It’s brilliant.
A friendly Welshman (Gareth, you out there?) once told me that the song was meant to be sung to the tune of “Sweet Betsy from Pike.” Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Folklore, Gogarty, Mulligan, Welshmen
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January 18th, 2010
While we don’t like to venture into politics as a rule, a recent post to Wonkette, a wiseass political blog, cries out for your attention. Read the rest of this entry »
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January 18th, 2010
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Haines has been trying to get Stephen’s Hamlet theory out of him, but Stephen isn’t interested in telling it, and Mulligan is running interference, trying to get at least a pint out of the deal. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Elsinore, Haines, Hamlet, Mulligan, Stephen, Strange Brew, suicide
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January 4th, 2010
Happy New Year, all! I want to give a shout out to the new novel BIG IN JAPAN by a new friend, M. Thomas Gammarino, published by Seattle’s Chin Music Press. I had the opportunity to read it last week and really enjoyed it. I also had the opportunity to discuss it with Gammarino, who cites ULYSSES as his favorite book (without a close second).
BIG IN JAPAN is, in the (accurate) words of a reviewer, “a Dantesque coming-of-age tale in which [the main character] must navigate the borderlands between fantasy and reality, past and present, sex and death—even as forces beyond his control conspire to undo him. By turns compassionate and ruthless, erotic and grotesque, riotously serious and deadly funny…a sparkling, gut-wrenching, face-melting debut novel.”
Reviewers from, Nothing More Wonderful, Largehearted Boy, and The Examiner have been kind, and I would certainly agree with them. This novel is well worth the read and contains some fun nods to the Mighty ULYSSES, including the name of the the main character’s band, Agenbite. So, if you’re so inclined, I encourage you to show Mr. Gammarino some love. His book can be found at Amazon, in bookstores, and at the publisher’s web site. Our Seattle-area readers can also catch Gammarino at Third Place Books on Wed., Jan. 6th at 7:00 pm, and at a celebration with Pilot Books at the Little Red Bistro on Fri., Jan. 8th at 7:00 pm. If you’re in or around Vancouver, BC, you can catch him at Sophia Books on Thurs., Jan. 7th at 6:30 pm.
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January 2nd, 2010
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To anyone out there who’s reading this book for the first time, I’d suggest you not spend too much time trying to parse Mulligan’s summary of Stephen’s theory of Shakespeare. I will tell you, however, it is far more concise than Stephen’s own version, which you will read in Episode 9. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: father, Japhet, Marryat, Mother, Mulligan, Stephen, who's your daddy?
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December 24th, 2009
Hello all, and happy holidays! We’ve put together a 6-page eCard for you (we couldn’t resist). You can view it as a slideshow and/or download the PDF version below. Have a great holiday weekend, and enjoy!
Download the 2009 holiday card PDF
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