admin
-
The House of Keyes
“Love laughs at locksmiths.” -Gerty MacDowell To listen to a discussion of this topic, check out the podcast episode here. There’s a parallel universe where, rather than becoming one of the great novelists, James Joyce became a master advertiser and propagandist on par with Edward Bernays. Consider the following tableau: “– a colored picture… representing…
-
Ep. 79 – Martha
Henry dear, do not deny my request before my patience are exhausted. In this episode, Kelly and Dermot try to figure out who Martha, Leopold Bloom’s saucy penpal, could really be. Topics include Dermot’s interest in Islam, Bloom’s missing hour, Leah the Forsaken, jugginses and guttapercha, castration anxiety, hopscotch and marbles, senior infants, Martha’s letter,…
-
Ep. 78 – An Abode of Bliss
The Blooms’ household is anything but an abode of bliss. In this episode, topics include: Plumtree’s Potted Meat, Joyce’s love for advertising, the narcotic effect of adspeak, why Plumtree’s Potted Meat is the perfect metaphor for a modern Odysseus, M’Coy’s various scams, Boylan’s metaphorically significant gifts to Molly, Bloom’s missing hour and how his cat…
-
Who Were the Real Men in Aeolus’ Newsroom?
This post is a part of an occasional series on the real people behind the characters in Ulysses. Myles Crawford During a 1909 visit to Dublin, James Joyce made several visits to the office of the Evening Telegraph where he became acquainted with its then editor Patrick Meade, Lord of the Wind Bags. Meade was…
-
Ep. 77 – M’Coy. Get rid of him quickly.
Leopold Bloom braves an awkward stop-and-chat. Topics in this episode include: Leopold Bloom’s encounter with M’Coy, what Bloom has in common with Larry David, M’Coy as a character in “Grace”, M’Coy as an early prototype for Bloom, a quincunx, Bloom wrestles with his Shadow, Bloom trying to catch a glimpse of a woman’s leg, outsider…
-
Ulysses & The Odyssey: Aeolus
“We mustn’t be led away by words, by sounds of words.” – “Professor” MacHugh Part of an occasional series on the Homeric parallels in James Joyce’s Ulysses. To listen to a discussion of this topic, check out the podcast episode here. The Odyssey, Book X: After escaping the Cyclops, Odysseus and his surviving crew find…
-
Ep. 76 – Henry Flower, Esq
Mr. Bloom runs a mysterious errand at the Westland Row Post Office. Topics include hidden lotuses, Corny Kelleher, Leopold Bloom’s missing hour, tooraloom tooraloom tay, Orientalism and Bloom’s fantasy of the Far East, stereotypes about climate’s affects the character of a culture, Tom Kernan, how Bloom succumbs to the Lotus Eaters, Henry Flower, what Bloom…
-
Ep. 75 – The Lotus Eaters
We begin our foray into the languorous “Lotus Eaters” episode. Topics in this episode include how Kelly is like the Terminator, Odysseus and his crew’s misadventure with the Lotus Eaters in The Odyssey, why forgetfulness is evil in Odysseus’ view, some peculiar tales from Westland Row, cultivating an appreciation for the mundane, the Lotus Eaters…
-
Who is the Man in the Macintosh?
“Now who is that lankylooking galoot over there in the macintosh? Now who is he I’d like to know? Now I’d give a trifle to know who he is.” – Leopold Bloom, p. 109 To listen to a discussion of this topic, check out the podcast episode here. Who doesn’t love a good mystery ?…
-
Ep. 74 – Irish Orientalism
We explore Leopold Bloom’s connection to the ancient Phoenicians. Topic covered in this episode include: social hierarchies in Ireland, Dubliners v. culchies, Leopold Bloom’s fascination with the Orient, how imperial British culture informs Bloom’s worldview, whether or not some people in Irish society benefited from colonialism, the Celtic Revival movement, how the Revivalist applied an…