Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Just in case you don't know ...

... what day we have.

Ah, a Joycean you might think. Well, there's also one book to be seen that's not written by or about Joyce.
It is said had he not been ding-dong Joyce would have written like this very gentleman. :)


Click to enlarge.

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14 comments:

  1. Damn It's Blooms Day. I have had mt mind on other things. Got news that friends in Tehran are safe and well which is a personal relief

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  2. Hurrah for Joyce (and for friends being safe)! I must dig out my copy of Ulysses and re-read it (I've never had the time or the enthusiasm to deal with Finnegan...)

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  3. Jams,
    Good to hear your friends are slightly safe.
    Indeed, what is the anniversary of Bloom's Day in the light of events such as those happening in Iran right now?
    Apropos anniversary: Although I did not mention it before, since 1976 June 16th for me is also the day to remember the so-called Soweto Uprising.

    D.E.,
    same with me: My eyes do still carry a grudge that once I forced them to struggle through Finnegans Wake; not to speak of my grey matter.
    Hope the hay fever plague is surrendering and on its retreat.

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  4. Sean: A lovely busy bookshelf! Last night I started reading the one on the top left.

    Doubtful: I presume you read the 'standard' edition of Ulysses, as I did. When I return to it I will read the reissued 1922 text.

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  5. My hayfever is still a bit of a nuisance, but it's nothing more than that: a nuisance. When one considers the plight of Cystic Fibrosis sufferers in Ireland (to choose but one group) it pales into utter insignificance...
    Stan, my copy of Ulysses is the Penguin edition on the second shelf in the photograph. And I second your praise of the bookshelf!

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  6. Doubtful: I have the same Penguin edition, but after reading The Scandal of Ulysses (top right on the bookshelf) I determined to acquire the text as originally published, if I came across it. I soon did, but when I'll get around to reading it is another matter!

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  7. It was fun to re-read the nice discussion we had at god-free morals (June 28-08) by clicking (at the bottom of this post) "Is 'Finnegans Wake' a novel?" Of course, we drank such good wine that evening. That's probably why we could be eloquent on this metagrobolizing subject.

    Chris' excellent essay also gave us a good push in the right direction.

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  8. Do I envy your bookshelves? Nah....she says loudly, lying with aplomb. Just send me the mug...:)

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  9. Now only last week a friend of mine was telling me I needed to brush up on my Irish history...

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  10. Stan,
    I was surprised, myself, when placing my 'Joyces' for the photo. Normally they 'need' only 30 centimetres.
    As for Ellman's Joyce-biography: Enjoy!
    Im am not an enthusiastic reader of biographies, but this one is remarkable good.
    Where could I get the reissued text of 1922?

    D.E.,
    isn't the screening of newborns obligatory in Ireland? Or what is the reason that Cystic Fibrosis is widespread?
    By the way, I felt reminded of following joke:
    Niall meets Seamus, the latter hobbling and obviously not in his best mood.
    - What's the matter, Seamus?
    - What's the matter. Don't ye have eyes to see? A fucking broken leg I have, that's the matter.
    - Ah, how lucky you are, Seamus.
    - Lucky?
    - Imagine, how easily you could have broken both legs ...

    Claudia,
    that was great fun, indeed, although the wine unfortunately was virtual.
    As for the mug: I have a better idea: We shall ask Stan, as the pottery where I bought it is not far from Galway - near Spiddle, if I remember correctly. Seamus Heaney, Flann O'Brien, Lady Gregory, Yeats, Joyce - they have quite a nice sortiment.

    CherryPie,
    history or literature. If the latter, it would be my pleasure to commend the I have some hundred books to commend let's say 100 books for the beginning. :)

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  11. Sean: The 1922 text seems to be quite widely available; after waiting in vain for a copy to appear in a second-hand bookshop, I bought this critical edition in a local commercial bookshop. A few editions have been released.

    As for the mug, there are several pottery places in Galway and its environs, but I cannot see the question you may or may not have asked me!

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  12. Stan,
    thanks a lot.
    Re the mug: Claudia said "[...] Just send me the mug."
    Thinking how I could keep my mug it came to my mind that amongst others I bought this very mug in a nice little 'artist colony some miles north of Salthill, on the right hand side, and therefore she might perhaps ask you to send her one.

    Somewhere in the the dungeon of my archive I'd certainly find the exact address. :)

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  13. Stan and Sean-

    Not to worry. It was just a whisful desire. We have an Irish shop in Toronto. I wouldn't be surprised to find mugs dedicated to all Eire writers of importance. If not, Irish whiskey will comfort me. It did with Joyce, Dylan and Burton....

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  14. Ha! Ha! I already wrote wishful with a drunken Irish accent....:)

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