Telemachus
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Ep. 7 – In Defense of Dorkiness
Kelly and Dermot discuss Stephen’s tower-mate, the Englishman Haines. Haines was based on a real-life roommate of James Joyce’s – Dermot Chenevix Trench. Did Joyce’s personal dislike of Trench color his characterization in the novel? What’s up with that black panther mentioned in ‘Telemachus?’ Why does Dermot (our host) have bad memories of learning Irish…
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Ep. 6 – Tea for the Tower-Men
Hell is breakfast with Buck Mulligan.Kelly and Dermot talk about the allegory of the old milk woman who visits Stephen and the boys in the Martello Tower. Topics covered include Hiberno-English, the importance of tea in Irish culture and who the hell Mother Grogan was. On the Blog: The Women of Ulysses: Mother Grogan and…
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Ep. 4 – Introibo Ad Altare Dei
Kelly and Dermot talk about page #1 of Ulysses, taking a deep dive into the symbolism of the Catholic Mass in the opening scene. There’s lots of talk about blasphemy, transubstantiation, saints and why Kelly was a terrible altar server back in the day. We finish off with wild speculation about why kids don’t learn…
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Ep. 3 – Joyce v. Gogarty
In this episode we tackle the falling out between James Joyce and Oliver St John Gogarty, the origins of the character Buck Mulligan, what really happened in the Martello tower, blasphemous poetry and how Joyce found his sense of humor. On the Blog: Say ‘Hello’ to Martello Towers Who was the Real Buck Mulligan? Poetry…
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Ep. 2 – Ulysses & The Odyssey: Telemachus!
Dermot and Kelly discuss the connections between Ulysses and The Odyssey. We take on the Gilbert schema, how to market a book like Ulysses, what exactly happens in the opening chapters of The Odyssey, and how it corresponds to the “Telemachus” episode of Ulysses. On the Blog: Ulysses & The Odyssey: Telemachus Social Media: Facebook|Twitter…
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Decoding Dedalus: A Dedalus Never Pays His Debts
—I will tell you, he said solemnly, what is his proudest boast. I paid my way. … I never borrowed a shilling in my life. Can you feel that? I owe nothing. Can you? This is a post in a series called Decoding Dedalus where I take a paragraph of Ulysses and break it down…
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Ulysses & The Odyssey: Telemachus
I am now writing a book based on the wanderings of Ulysses. ‘The Odyssey,’ that is to say, serves me as a ground plan. Only my time is recent and all my hero’s wanderings take no more than 18 hours. – James Joyce, 1918 For a discussion of this topic, check out our podcast episode…
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Ulysses CCD: Mulligan Mocks Mass
To hear a discussion of this topic, check out the podcast episode here. Part of an occasional series on Catholism in Ulysses. In 2017, I was a founding member of the Ulysses Support Group at T.C. O’Leary’s pub in Portland, Oregon. Our goal was to read the entirety of Ulysses aloud between two Bloomsdays. On…
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Poetry in Ulysses: The Ballad of Joking Jesus
-We oughtn’t to laugh, I suppose. He’s rather blasphemous. I’m not a believer myself, that is to say. Still his gaiety takes the harm out of it somehow, doesn’t it? For all posts on music and poetry in Ulysses, visit this page. In “Telemachus,” Stephen Dedalus and the boys head down to the sea beside…
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Decoding Dedalus: Heresies in “Telemachus”
This is a post in a series called Decoding Dedalus where I take a paragraph of Ulysses and give it the ol’ Frank Delaney treatment – that is, break it down line by line. As an aside, if you haven’t listened to Frank Delaney’s excellent podcast, Re:Joyce, go treat yourself. His page by page analysis…