Ulysses - James Joyce - Introduction

Ulysses reading group.

The date (and location) for this first session is tentative and we can discuss amongst likely attendees which date/time/location works best.

The first meeting will not require any reading. We will discuss the book in general as well as the different available versions of the book: the two most common being the Gabler and 1961 Bodley Head.

We will also discuss a plan as to how we intend to read the book. At this stage, we will meet fortnightly and read between 20-50 pages (depending on the complexity of the current chapter). There will also be additional readings (and listenings) each fortnight for those with a real penchant for Joyce (e.g., Frank Delaney's ReJoyce podcast; excerpts from Richard Ellmann's biography; comparisons with Homer's Odyssey).

Looking forward to reading it all with you. I will leave you with this fabulous essay by Merve Emre published on the centenary of the publication of Ulysses which will entice you without too many spoilers: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2022/02/14/the-seductions-of-ulysses

p.s. the photo is a doodle by Joyce himself of Leopold Bloom—the modern day Odysseus