finish reading Ulysses

I went back and re-read “Preparatory to anything else…” where Bloom brushes off Stephen’s coat, until and through the following gem of a paragraph:

“Mr Bloom and Stephen entered the cabman’s shelter, an unpretentious wooden structure, where, prior to then, he had rarely, if ever, been before; the former having previously whispered to the latter a few hints anent the keeper of it, said to be the once famous Skin-the-Goat, Fitzharris, the invincible, though he couldn’t vouch for the actual facts, which quite possibly there was not one vestige of truth in. A few moments later saw our two noctambules safely seated in a discreet corner, only to be greeted by stares from the decidedly miscellaneous collection of waifs and strays and other nondescript specimens of the genus homo, already there engaged in eating and drinking, diversified by conversation, for whom they seemingly formed an object of marked curiosity.”

robotwisdom has this to say to sum up this chapter:

“This antepenultimate chapter is a sort of shaggy-dog story of Bloom’s attempts to build rapport with the barely-revived Stephen, in an allnight greasy-coffeespoon. A rebarbative old salt called Murphy spins some tall tales, and Stephen finally agrees to come home with Bloom. The style is a maze of risible rhetorical missteps.”

I’m feeling very close to Mr. Bloom, as we’ve journeyed much together in this long long day.

http://www.robotwisdom.com/jaj/ulysses/

So now I’ve learned that she plays the role of Nausicaa, that of a temptress on the shores, trying to lead our hero astray. I kept reading and re-reading the first half, over the last years. Early this morning I finished it.

Using the University of London hypertext edition, edited by webmaster Frank Kriwaczek, let’s see what we learn:

http://www.doc.ic.ac.uk/~rac101/concord/texts/ulysses/ulysses.cgi?word=Horne’s

Okay. I see: this is the “Oxen in the Sun” chapter (some texts refer to these as “episodes”).
Let me see if I remember… didn’t Odysseus’ men disobey his orders, and eat the cattle of the Cyclops? Is this what the chapter is referring to? I’ll have to read from the above link, the Concordance.
Now I’m reading the middle English chapter, what must correspond to the 14th episode. Who is Horne? Now, having read from the following commentary, I quite agree, Mina Purefoy’s son’s birth IS very confusing, but what has it to do with Odysseus, his men, and their mistake of eating the giants’ cattle? I feel stupid. But no worries, mates, I plod on determinedly.

http://caxton.stockton.edu/ulysses/stories/storyReader$57

I hesitate to do more than just cite Allyson Carroll, who has posted the above, so I won’t quote any of her work without asking her. However, I strongly suggest you read the above link from the Caxton Club at Stockton. And Allyson, wherever you are, thank you thank you thank you! :f :)

...
And am going to start again with the chapter on Dedalus seeing the teacher in the schoolhouse, getting his meagre pay.

Nolla Tully edited this thin but very useful little motivator for the reading of Ulysses. The subtitle reads “A Celebration of James Joyce, Ulysses, and 100 Years of Bloomsday.”

Its forword is written by Franck McCourt, its introduction by Isaiah Sheffer. Published by Vintage Books in 2004, its ISBN is 1-4000-7731-1

This book is indispensable in that it explains WHY you should read Joyce, it offers pointers in HOW to read Joyce, and it witnesses how many many people have done so and learned so very much about Joyce, Dublin, the relationship between the Odyssey theme and the characters of Bloom, Dedalus, Molly, and others.

One paragraph which stood out for me in Frank McCourt’s introduction I’d like to share with you all:

...the professors did not explicate (at the Bloomsday in Symphony Space, NYC). It wouldn’t be tolerated. Yes, yes, threre are people (very few) who read assigned passages with no idea of context but they are loved for being there and for their whispered determination that someday they’ll read this damn book. It’s all right. There are people who read bits of the Bible on Sundays but who among us has read the whole thing?”

Later this week I’ll post the reasons for why one shoul read this great book.

...each year, I direct actors in Symphony Space’s June 16 celebration,”Bloomsday on Broadway.” [to be completed later]...There are people who have read bits of the Bible on Sundays, but who among us has read the whole thing?

from the foreword to “yes I said yes I will Yes,” A Celebration of James Joyce, Ulysses, and 100 Years of Bloomsday, edited by Nola Tully

I read some of the chapter where Bloom spies the girl on the beach.

And I’ll read the review, Yes, Yes, etc. Now it’s time to go to work. 6:46 a.m.

It’s four minutes till work time. I’ll be a bit late.

Armstrong Atlantic State University’s (AASU) Irish Studies Club celebrated the 3rd Annual Bloomsday Celebration yesterday evening at Kevin Barry’s Pub, located on West River Street, in Savannah, Georgia. Frank Clancy, assistant professor of literature at AASU, read from an essay in the recently published Re-Joyce,read from the Cyclops chapter of James Joyce’s novel, Ulysses, and otherwise ebulliently greeted and conversed with old friends and new acquaintances. There was a vague sense of disappointment that no one else rose to the invitation to read from Ulysses. This reporter was wont to do so, but he, being the newcomer to the group and erstwhile reporter, wished to let one of the ‘regulars’ go first.

The Irish Studies Club has met from time to time for lectures on Irish literature, films, history, and politics. It is open to those in the community interested in Irish culture, and has been announced frequently on WSVH-FM, Savannah area’s community radio broadcasting from Skidaway Island.

The event began at 7pm and was still going on when yours truly had paid his tab and traipsed downstairs, pausing to listen to J.J. Smith play the guitar and sing Irish songs, and query lovely dark-haired and svelte Tietjen about the family and founding of the fine establishment which had hosted the small gathering of Joycians. For more information or to become a member, call Frank Clancy at 912.921.5624.