Ulysses
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Ep. 69 – Met Him Pike Hoses
We do our best to take Molly’s advice and tell it in plain words – what is metempsychosis? Topics covered in this episode include Boylan’s bold hand, whether or not cats are kosher, moustache cups, secret letters, “La Ci Darem La Mano”, an orangekeyed chamberpot, how Molly can be both Calypso and Penelope, Joyce’s personal…
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Ep. 68 – The Orientalism Show
Why is Leopold Bloom so captivated by the “mysterious East”? In this episode we discuss the Orientalist motif in Ulysses, with a focus on “Calypso.” Topics include what is Orientalism?, how Orientalism manifests in Irish culture, the blurred continuum between Irish and British culture, Edward Said, why the “Orient” is really a dream, the Whig…
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Ep. 66 – Potato I have.
This week, we’re talkin’ ‘bout ‘tatoes! Kelly and Dermot unpack the deeper symbolism behind Leopold Bloom’s idiosyncratic hobby of carrying a potato upon his person. Topics include Tayto crisps, Stephen and Bloom’s parallel lost keys, Bloom’s potato as a protective object, why the potato may actually possess magic powers, the potato as Odysseus’ moly, the…
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Who Was the Real Paddy Dignam?
“—As decent a little man as ever wore a hat, Mr Dedalus said. He went very suddenly.” This post is a part of an occasional series on the real people behind the characters in Ulysses. You can listen to a podcast discussion of this topic here. Ulysses’ sixth episode, “Hades,” centers around the funeral of…
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Ulysses & The Odyssey: Hades
Part of an occasional series on the Homeric parallels in James Joyce’s Ulysses. The Odyssey, Book XI: Odysseus travels to the underworld and meets the prophet Tiresias, who reveals the ultimate fate of Odysseus and his crew. Odysseus has a chance to speak to other souls in the underworld, including his mother, a parade of…
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Ep. 63 – Calypso
Welcome to the next stage of your journey! This week we cover the parallels to “Calypso,” the fourth episode of James Joyce’s Ulysses and Book V of Homer’s Odyssey. Topics include how Leopold Bloom and Odysseus are similar, how they’re different since Bloom is really a sideways Odysseus, Bloom as a feminine man, the danger…
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Sweny the Alchemist
“ Sweny’s in Lincoln place. Chemists rarely move.” Ulysses, p. 84 To listen to a discussion of this topic, check out the podcast episode here and here. Leopold Bloom’s observation that chemists rarely move has turned out to be oddly prescient. As Dublin has evolved as a city since 1904, much of Bloom’s hometown would…
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Ep. 62 – Altman the Saltman (w/Vincent Altman O’Connor)
In our last episode, we discussed people from James Joyce’s life who influenced the creation of Leopold Bloom. However, we left one question unanswered – why were none of these men from Dublin? Didn’t Joyce know any Jewish people in Dublin? Vincent Altman O’Connor’s research into this very question and the biography of his ancestors…
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Ep. 61 -Who Was the Real Leopold Bloom?
James Joyce based many characters in Ulysses on friends, family, acquaintances, and enemies, but what about Leopold Bloom? Who were the real people in Joyce’s life who inspired the creation of one of literature’s greatest protagonists? Topics in this episode include people who Joyce thought looked like Leopold Bloom, the story of Alfred Hunter, why…