Stephen Dedalus
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Decoding Dedalus: The Opal Hush Poets
“The first spectre of the new generation has appeared. His name is Joyce. I have suffered from him and I would like you to suffer.” – Æ to W.B. Yeats, 1902 This is a post in a series called Decoding Dedalus where I take a passage of Ulysses and break it down line by line.…
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A POLISHED PERIOD
“—He spoke on the law of evidence, J. J. O’Molloy said, of Roman justice as contrasted with the earlier Mosaic code, the lex talionis. And he cited the Moses of Michelangelo in the vatican.” To listen to a discussion of this topic, check out the podcast episode here. In Ulysses’ seventh episode, “Aeolus”, Evening Telegraph…
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Decoding Dedalus: RHYMES AND REASONS
“That is how poets write, the similar sounds. But then Shakespeare has no rhymes: blank verse. The flow of the language it is. The thoughts. Solemn.” – Leopold Bloom This is a post in a series called Decoding Dedalus where I take a passage of Ulysses and break it down line by line. The passage…
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Ep. 90 – Bloomsday 2022
Dermot and Kelly take to the streets of Dublin on Bloomsday 2022 with the goal to talk to as many people celebrating the occasion as possible. They talk to revelers at the Sandycove Martello Tower, Kennedy’s Pub in Lincoln Place, outside Sweny’s Pharmacy, and on Duke St. in the general vicinity of Davy Byrne’s. Many,…
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The Invincible Ignatius Gallaher
“And yet it was in some way if not as memory fabled it.” – Stephen Dedalus To listen to a discussion of this topic, check out the podcast episode here. It seems that poor Stephen Dedalus can’t catch a break from the nightmare of history anywhere in this bloody city. While Stephen’s presence in “Aeolus”…
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Ep. 88 – NIGHTTOWN (w/ Benjamin Wenzelberg)
Blooms & Barnacles chat with composer Benjamin Wenzeberg about his new, Ulysses-inspired opera NIGHTTTOWN. Topics include adapting Ulysses for the stage, the process of writing an opera during Covid, gender politics and #metoo in Ulysses, gender-inclusive casting, Molly as a force of nature, the proper use of Italian, the symbolic power of musical notation, and…
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Leopold Bloom in the House of Habsburg
“That archduke Leopold was it no yes or was it Otto one of those Habsburgs? – Leopold Bloom” To listen to a discussion of this topic, check out the podcast episode here. Midway through “Aeolus,” Ulysses’ seventh episode, Stephen Dedalus re-enters the story just as Leopold Bloom steps out, like two ships passing in the…
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A Cloacal Obsession
“Mr. James Joyce is apparently afflicted with a shameful mania, but, as his works are but little read by sane folk, we say nothing of him.” – Eoin Ua Mathghamhna, 1924 To listen to a discussion of this topic, check out the podcast episode here. About midway through “Aeolus,” Ulysses’ seventh episode, Leopold Bloom has…
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AND IT WAS THE FEAST OF THE PASSOVER
Why is this Bloomsday different from all other Bloomsdays? To listen to a discussion of this topic, check out the podcast episode here. We continue our occasional investigation of all the things Leopold Bloom misunderstands about religion. We’ve already covered his unique views on Catholicism and Buddhism in “Lotus Eaters”, so today we’ll tackle Judaism,…
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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…