Frank Delaney's Re: Joyce
Re: Joyce! On the international literary feast day of Bloomsday 2010, we launched a podcast to commemorate James Joyce's mighty novel, "Ulysses", the action of which took place in 18 hours of June 16, 1904. Every week you'll find a five-minute mini-essay from me designed to take you through the novel that's on every list of the greatest books ever written. And as Ulysses runs to some 375,000 words, and I mean to go through it sentence by sentence if I have to, in order to convey the full brilliance of this novel - and the enjoyment to be had from it - I'll be podcasting for some time to come! It's such an absorbing book, it's got diamond mines of references, it's so compassionate, so tender, so moving, so funny - and most of us never know that, because most of us have long been daunted by it. No need to be afraid any more - that is, if you make a habit of listening to these podcasts.

Stephen thinks of drowning, and his mother's death. Tide and change.

Direct download: re_Joyce_133_Cool_Cool_Water.mp3
Category:Literature -- posted at: 12:30am EDT

In this bonus episode a few days before Christmas, Frank discusses the final tale of The Dubliners: The Dead.

Direct download: re_Joyce_132A_ReJoyce_for_Christmas.mp3
Category:Literature -- posted at: 12:30am EDT

Stephen, dwelling on insults, thinks of the Decameron - and of his own failures of courage and athleticism.

Direct download: re_Joyce_132_Barking_at_Boccaccio.mp3
Category:Literature -- posted at: 12:30am EDT

Still on the same paragraph, Frank considers Walter Harris's The History and Antiquities of the City of Dublin as a source for Joyce. Moving on, the dog barks, and Stephen imagines himself a stag at bay. Famous pretenders.

Direct download: re_Joyce_131_Whales_and_Gigolos.mp3
Category:Literature -- posted at: 11:03am EDT

A running dog on the beach. Stephen thinks of Lochland raiders, and of ancient Dubliners attacking beached turlehide whales.

Direct download: re_Joyce_130_Torcs_and_Tomahawks.mp3
Category:Literature -- posted at: 12:30am EDT