James Joyce and The Novel of the Century - February 5, 2010

Imagine giving yourself the most scandalous novel of the century as a birthday present. That's what James Joyce did on February 2, 1922, when Ulysses was published. Joyce was born in Dublin on February 2, 1882, and showed a precocious talent for literature, writing a poem about the death of Irish politician Charles Parnell at the age of nine. At University College Dublin, he studied English, French, Italian, and the theatre, and following a brief attempt to study medicine in Paris, he returned to Dublin, where he combined bouts of heavy drinking with writing.  On June 16, 1904 (remember that date), he went on a first date with a chambermaid by the unlikely name of Nora Barnacle, who would eventually become his wife. For the rest of his life, Joyce lived mainly in Zurich and Paris, teaching English, dodging wars, and working on various stories and novels. In 1914, he published Dubliners, a collection of short stories depicting life in and around the Irish capital, followed in 1916 by A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, which follows Joyce's alter ego, Stephen Dedalus, as he discovers his artistic identity. The book was ranked the third-greatest novel of the 20th century, thanks to such then-innovative techniques as stream of consciousness narration and interior monologue. In 1922, after seven years of struggle, he finally finished Ulysses, a massive novel weaving the stories of Stephen Dedalus and advertising salesman Leopold Bloom as they make their way through Dublin on ... June 16, 1904.  Joyce was meticulous in his settings for the novel, remarking that if the city were somehow destroyed, it could be recreated from the book. Mirroring the mythical journey of the Greek Odysseus, Joyce used virtually every literary technique available -- from stream of consciousness to poetry and play scripts to the Catholic catechism and parodies of cheap romance novels -- to paint a portrait of the two men and their city. Ulysses is simultaneously scholarly, hallucinogenic, and (what might seem shocking for such an important work) hilariously funny. Unfortunately, the earthiness of the novel, with its frank descriptions of sex -- alone and with others -- made it ripe for censorship: it was banned in both the United States and Great Britain. About the only way to read it was to travel to Paris and purchase a copy from Sylvia Beach's tiny English-language bookstore, Shakespeare and Company, and smuggle it home.  Finally, in 1933, Random House publisher Bennett Cerf arranged to have a copy seized by customs officials in New York in order to test the obscenity ban in court. The judge ruled that it was not pornographic, and in 1934, the first American edition was published to acclaim that has never ceased. In the decades since, Ulysses has provided a cottage industry to academics, either trying to bring out "definitive" editions (the manuscript was plagued by typos from the beginning) or explaining and simplifying the forest of references, allusions, and puns planted by Joyce. And, every June 16, Joyceophiles around the world celebrate "Bloomsday," dedicated to reading, discussing, and celebrating what many consider the greatest literary work of the 20th century. While tackling such a monumental work may seem daunting, if you get the chance to read it -- or even to attend a Bloomsday event -- your response should be "yes I said yes I will Yes." Suggested Sites... James Joyce Centre - promoting an understanding of the life and works of James Joyce. The Novel of the Century - information and images about the creation and publication of Ulysses. How to Read Ulysses - first step: open the book. The Literature Network: Ulysses - read the book, then discuss it with others. Joyce Images: Ulysses - gallery of photos and images of people, places, and things mentioned in the novel.