Proteus

  • Ep. 70 – Bloomsday 2021

    Happy Bloomsday, one and all! Enjoy a selection of readings from Ulysses by our talented listeners from across the globe. It’s a Bloomsday bash you can listen to anywhere. Just add gorgonzola and burgundy! Cool stuff to support: Sweny’s Patreon helps keep this marvelous Dublin landmark alive. Please subscribe! U22: The Centenary Ulysses Podcast Ulysses –…

    read more

  • Ep. 59 – Rere Regardant

    This episode’s passage comes from p. 50-51 in my edition of Ulysses (1990 Vintage International), and covers the passage beginning “Come. I thirst.” and ending “…a silent ship.” We did it!!! We finally finished “Proteus”! We’re covering the last page of Ulysses’ third episode this week. Topics include Dermot’s love of tall ships and the…

    read more

  • Ep. 58 – Barnacle Goose and Featherbed Mountain

    How exactly does God become a featherbed mountain? What the heck is a featherbed mountain? We answer these questions and more in this episode of Blooms & Barnacles! Topics covered in this episode include Dermot’s hot take on Richard Dawkins, Renaissance magic, theosophy, metempsychosis, Dublin seagulls, linear v. cyclical world-views, Dermot takes on Jared Diamond,…

    read more

  • Ep. 57 – Full fathom five thy father lies.

    The end is nigh. Kelly and Dermot discuss in the depth the drowning motif of “Proteus”. Other topics include The Tempest and Ariel’s Song, the wily nature of the sea, Stephen’s estrangement from his father Simon, the role of alcohol in the lives of Ulysses characters, quitting alcohol, rising corpses, sea change, porpoises, the ancient…

    read more

  • Ep. 56 – Fourworded Wavespeech

    **If you’re unfamiliar with the peeing Calvin decal (or if you are), here’s the story. The divine and the profane live side by side in Ulysses. In this episode, we discuss what the heck Cock Lake is, why Stephen pees on the strand at the end of “Proteus”, the themes of generation and corruption in…

    read more

  • Ep. 55 – Cranly’s Arm

    Who wore it better – Carrie Bradshaw or Stephen Dedalus? Kelly helps Dermot remember why he drew James Joyce wearing red, killer heels. Topics include subtle Homeric correspondences, Dermot’s allegiance to Mr. Kipling’s cakes, Stéphane Mallarmé’s ‘L’après-midi d’un faune’ (The afternoon of a faun), more ire directed at that mocker Buck Mulligan, Stephen’s tiny feet,…

    read more

  • Ep. 54 – What is that word known to all men?

    Kelly and Dermot take on a deceptively simple passage in “Proteus” as they attempt to answer that ultimate question – what is the word known to all men? Topics covered in this episode include Stephen’s loneliness and why Joyce felt it was necessary for him to be totally alone, a mysterious discrepancy in Ulysses’ various…

    read more

  • Ep. 53 – The Virgin at Hodges Figgis’ Window

    Dermot and Kelly carry on discussing “Proteus” in their flutiest voices! Topics in this episode include: yet more discussion of the philosophy of the good bishop of Cloyne, George Berkeley, shovel hats, the fluttering of the veil between the material world and the metaphysical world, Dermot’s grudge against Bertrand Russell, how language obscures one’s perception…

    read more

  • Ep. 52 – A Reign of Uncouth Stars

    Form of my form! Who watches me here? Kelly and Dermot wade into the final pages of “Proteus” to spend some time with old faves like Aristotle, Bishop Berkeley and Giordano Bruno. We dig deeper into Stephen Dedalus’ internal monologue while discussing Stephen’s concern for his future legacy, Stephen’s shadow, darkness shining in the brightness,…

    read more

  • Ep. 51 – Omnis Caro Ad Te Veniet

    Kelly and Dermot discuss one of the most metal passages in all of Ulysses! You can find it at the end of “Proteus” beginning with “A side eye at my Hamlet hat.” Topics include Hamlet (so much Hamlet), Stephen’s creative spark, more resent for Buck Mulligan, more grief for Stephen’s mother, the shifting protean nature…

    read more