Readers ReJoyce!

Yes, it's June 16, which means it's time for James Joyce enthusiasts to celebrate Ulysses, one of the most heralded books of the English language very few actually manage to read. Bloomsday on Broadway at Symphony Space started at noon today, but the readings of Joyce's work and reaction to it go on until midnight (Stephen Colbert, Jefferson Mays, the McCourt brothers - and Malachy will be in drag- and Fionnula Flanagan are a few of the performers). Gothamist appreciated the Newsday article about Bloomsday, Ulysses, and Joyce, which made us feel better about never getting past page 3 of Ulysses (a few people suggest skipping around in the book): "Even Nora, Joyce's wife, fretted over 'that chop suey [Joyce was] writing" and wished he'd attempt 'sensible books that people can understand.'" Maybe this year we'll break out the dusty copy of Ulysses and try again

Gothamist Weather loves how New York magazine asked four writers to profile four ordinary New Yorkers go about their day. And check out the James Joyce Center and The Brazen Head, a website about James Joyce.

Other reading events today: Amanda Stern's Happy Ending Reading Series has its last event of the season - with music from Jill Sobule, woo! - at Happy Ending Bar (302 Broome Street @ Forsyth, 8PM) and there's a Judy Blume Tribute - Amy Sohn and Lynn Harris are among the readers - at Fez (Lafayette and Great Jones Street, 7PM).

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Jen Chung in Arts & Entertainment on June 16, 2004 3:00 PM

Comments [rss]

Leslita

Go straight for the Nausicaa chapter. It's dirrrty : )

yojimbot

there's tons of backstory to ulysses. once you get a grip on that you then get all of joyce's puns, inside jokes and wordplay. it's like a literary crossword or some thing out of the bible code. parts of it are so awesome though and there is a narrative thread. so try to have some fun with it. if you really want pain, try reading finnegans' wake!

Jen

kottke links to someone who has suggestions on reading tough texts. I've been slogging through Stendhal's The Red and the Black for two years now - it's painful seeing that on my shelf.

Pat Freestone

I was wondering what the hell that Mr Magoo character was doing on google today.....

W

I suppose I should try again too. I had various chapters of it as part of a lit course in college, and even wrote a couple of papers on said chapters, but never managed to get beyond what was assigned. Maybe I'll go back and reread Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man first -- it's a good warm-up for the extremes of Ulysses.

Ron Mwangaguhunga

Don: Good that you did it in college. I didn't, and get guilty every so often that I didn't read it, but have trouble getting through it. Unlike Proust or V Woolfe, whom I did read, Joyce's writing itself isn't beautiful or symphonic in structure (okay, maybe symphonic in the John Cage manner, but not like Proust's overtures or Woolfe's lyricism). Anyway, this post is going to make me give it another try.

Joyce Fan

Also note today's NYT Crossword puzzle.

buff

The first ever computer virus that can infect mobile phones has been discovered. The Bloomsday virus was apparently released in time for the 100th anniversary of the eponymous literary holiday. It infects the Symbian operating system that is used in several makes of mobiles, notably the Nokia brand, and propagates through the new bluetooth wireless technology that is in several new mobile phones.

Don

I did Ulysses in college with a professor helpfully providing an hour-long lecture to accompany each chapter. A wonderful experience, but I was well aware all the way through that I never would have made it through on my own.