Some men about town...

We meet an inventive Dublin hero.

Meet a controlling sneezer.

From a secretary to a clergyman.

Romance language - and “literature”...

We meet the dashing seducer!

The brooding Dedalus brood shifts in time.

The Story So Far - So Far.

 Dublin city is on the move.

A little Latin loving, perhaps?

Father Conmee is such a thoughtful man.

Dublin opens up to Father Conmee.

A wonderful moment of characterization.

In a new chapter, Dublin city is a character.

The final moments of Scylla and Charybdis.

Amid Mulligan's bawdry - a profound moment.

Is the book taking over the narration?

Stephen is barely holding on.

Does Stephen believe his own theory?

Stephen lays out the drama.

Stephen’s own myth.

Stephen identifies family villains

Stephen & Brush up Your Shakespeare.

A Baker’s Dozen Special Edition.

Stephen links incest to avarice.

Stephen tallies Shakespeare’s deep resources.

Stephen describes the Shakespeare clan.

Shakespeare in love, sacred and profane. 

 Buck derogates and Stephen soars.

Was Hamlet a woman? Or an Irishman?

Stephen’s tormentor is back!

Stephen shows Shakespearean sympathies.

Stephen has a lot to say.

Stephen reflects on ancient thoughts.

Stephen is not yet among the new poetic voices.

Stephen's twixt Shakespeare and Theosophy.

Stephen famously opens portals of discovery.

Stephen launches his Shakespeare theory

Stephen’s theory moves toward lift-off.

In the library Stephen listens.

In the writing of Ulysses handwriting took on new meaning.

In the library Stephen theosophizes.

Who - or what - are Scylla and Charybdis?

Mr. Bloom has to run and hide.

 Mr. Bloom is a decent fellow.

Can Mr. Bloom arrest his anguished thoughts?

Enter some sober minor characters.

Is Mr. Bloom really a Freemason?

Mr. Bloom enjoys voluptuous memories.

Mr. Bloom is melancholy about oysters.

Mr. Bloom has to listen to some unwelcome chatter.

Mr Bloom orders lunch and fights off malice.

Mr. Bloom has a strange, futuristic view of dining.

Mr. Bloom is too disgusted for words.

Mr. Bloom fights melancholy with silk.

Mr. Bloom tries a little magic experiment.

Mr. Bloom overhears a mysterious, passing conversation.

The light of James Joyce’s life, his daughter, Lucia.

 Is Mr. Bloom having a sugar dip?

Wading beneath the surface of Ulysses...

Mr. Bloom contemplates pregnancies.

A hint of the kinky in Mr. Bloom.

Meet Cashel Boyle O’Connor Fitzmaurice Tisdall Farrell.

Mr. Bloom displays compassion.

Mr. Bloom meets a pretty old friend.

Mr. Bloom has fond memories.

The sandwich men are here!

An advertisement worries Mr. Bloom.

Mr. Bloom feeds the birds.

And on we go - into Chapter Eight.

Quiet departure from the cave of the winds.

Will the editor print Stephen's tale?

The Father of the Winds asks to be kissed.

Stephen begins to tell a story.

For New Year’s Day a Baker’s Dozen Special Edition on the year of Leopold Bloom.

Stephen listens, then leads

Stephen listens to echoes of Egypt

Moses enters Stephen’s life.

Stephen is encouraged to emulate.

Mr. Bloom, amid noise, gets a result.

Mr. Bloom, in the cemetery, imagines alternative commemorations.

Mr. Bloom wonders whether our dead bodies can produce good food.

Mr. Bloom reflects on old songs and unfortunate hospital names.

Mr. Bloom recalls a coroner and funeral hurries on.

Mr. Bloom’s fellow-travelers make a gaffe - or is it deliberate?

Mr. Bloom contemplates the colors of burial.

Mr. Bloom’s mental travelog through Dublin continues. 

In which we find a cure for a drunk’s red nose.

The Story So Far - revisiting Chapters 1 to 5.

Mr. Bloom is subjected to rudeness.

Will the real Reuben Dodd please stand up?

The funeral rolls on past distinguished statues.

Mr. Bloom keeps his thoughts to himself as he moves away from a taunt.

As Mr. Bloom shows tact, James Joyce shows his own changing mind.

Mr. Joyce's life echoes Mr. Bloom's.

In which a major player in Mr Bloom's anguish steps onstage. 

Discover how and where the four men are sitting in the carriage.

Mr. Bloom reads the Hatches, Matches & Dispatches.

In a funeral carriage we see Mr. Bloom being snubbed.

During a halt in the funeral Mr. Bloom reminisces...

The funeral-goers uncover some of their carriage’s past life.

In response to a listener (and donor) some suggestions on how to read the works of James Joyce.

Sad thoughts for Mr. Bloom, as he recalls a better occasion.

Simon Dedalus, Stephen's father, threatens dire action against Buck Mulligan. 

In which Mr. Bloom sees for the first time Stephen Dedalus.

The carriage moves off, the funeral begins.

We begin a new chapter and go to a funeral.

Chapter Five ends in a bath-tub: or does it?

Mr. Bloom considers the game of cricket and a ballad.

Mr. Bloom thinks he can do better.

The beginning of a wonderful long-running joke.

Mr. Bloom considers hemophilia and lemony soap.

Mr. Bloom shows an understanding of nettles and oatmeal and rainwater

Mr. Bloom entertains deep thoughts about healing potions.

Mr. Bloom peers into the history and mystery of alchemy.

Mr. Bloom adjusts his clothing and steps out into the light.

Mr. Bloom dwells on lofty priests and lowlife pickpockets. 

Mr. Bloom and the wonders of the confessional.

In this Baker's Dozen special edition hear about two new and compelling books of Joyceana.

Mr. Bloom contemplates high voices and fancy drinks.

Mr. Bloom loves the sound of his wife's glorious voice.

Mr. Bloom attempts some democratic thoughts on Catholic worship.

Mr. Bloom has a few scathing thoughts on Catholics and their standards.

Mr. Bloom's irreverent thoughts extend to irreverent events.

Mr. Joyce, through Mr. Bloom's thoughts, offends the devout. 

I find interesting connections and mischievous irreverence.

Mr. Bloom contemplates some world religions.

Frank's centenary talk for the Rosenbacchanal dinner in Philadelphia on Friday 13 June 2014.

Mr. Bloom contemplates a virtual flood of dark brew.

Mr Bloom considers valuable signatures and barrels of Guinness

A woman with a jar of cool water in her head? Does Mr. Bloom imagine it?

Mr. Bloom has his own, somewhat questionable, version of the famous scene from the Gospels.

Mr. Bloom reflects on roughness, roses and thorns.

Mr. Bloom considers floriography.

Mr. Bloom reads his erotic correspondence and we learn a little more about him. 

 Mr. Bloom looks at a wise cat and opens his breathtaking letter.

Mr. Bloom, in search of a quiet corner, causes rudery to be unveiled.

Mr. Bloom contemplates the peaceful lives of horses. 

Mr. Bloom looks into the distance and recalls his poor father. 

Mr. Bloom, pleased at having vanquished McCoy, now worries about vaccination.

In this Baker's Dozen essay Frank looks at some of the places in Homer's Greece that connect to Joyce's Dublin.

Mr. Bloom agrees to oblige Mr. McCoy at a funeral.

Mr. Bloom gets wise to a luggage scam.

Mr. Bloom is hoping for something shocking but Life gets in the way.

Mr. Bloom is irritated by impediments to his lovely, rich-woman fantasy.

Mr. Bloom sees a rich lady, but is she too far above him?

Mr Blooms wants to read his secret letter but he's interrupted.

Mr. Bloom has scathing thoughts on the men in uniform.

Frank stalks Mr. Bloom to the Post Office and finds that he uses a false name!

Mr. Bloom is caught between Newton and Archimedes.

Mr. Bloom thinks how sweet it would be to do nothing.

Mr. Bloom has a secret and Joyce has a very good joke.

Mr. Bloom hears an undertaker's song.

a Baker's Dozen edition for St. Valentine's day, Frank considers the love story at the heart of Joyce's greatest work

The beginning of Chapter Five: Mr. Bloom goes forth.

Mr. Bloom is bodily refreshed and summoned by bells.

How do you connect Leonardo da Vinci to Disney's dancing hippos? 

The Literary Ambitions of Leopold Bloom.

Warning! TMI on the way - Mr. Bloom is in the toilet.

Mr. Bloom goes about his morning duty.

Mr. Bloom takes the air and considers his estates. 

Can Mr. Bloom's cat forecast the weather?

Is Mr. Bloom going to lose his daughter as well as his wife?

Mr. Bloom reflects on having a teenage daughter.

What a delicious breakfast a kidney makes.

Mr. Bloom's soft porn stirs his thoughts of reincarnation.

Frank's bonus edition looks at the man who wrote The Odyssey. Or did he? And was it a man?

Mr. Bloom's interest is whipped up by Ruby, the Pride of the Ring.

Do we hear a different kind of chamber music?

Poor Mr. Bloom fears the local Don Giovanni.

Mr. Bloom prepares a tray and keeps it in the family.

Mr. Bloom has fond but slightly unhealthy memories of  birthday gifts.

Mr. Bloom prepares breakfast but will the cat eat pork?

Mr. Bloom delivers the mail and a pain to his own heart.

Bloom's mood changes: he seems to have a cloud over him... 

Bloom's mood changes: he seems to have a cloud over him... 

Mr. Bloom experiences a mood change - he's literally under a cloud.

Mr. Bloom reminisces about Jewish friends and their harvest festivals.

Mr. Bloom, walking along the street, contemplates the sale of olive groves in the Middle East. 

Mr Bloom thinks about the girl next door, but her boyfriend is a cop.

The twelfth of Frank's "Baker's Dozen" podcast mini-essays; and this time he gives some added background to the major characters in Ulysses. 

Who's telling this story - Mr. Bloom or Mr. Joyce?

A girl in the butcher's shop excites Leopold Bloom.

Leopold Bloom licks his lips at sausages and hears children singing.

Mr. Bloom calculates how a barman rises to own a pub.

A barman makes an astounding declaration to Mr. Bloom

Mr. Bloom imagines sweet music, and we think of a sweet sad song.

Mr. Bloom is musing on exotic flavors of the east, and crusty hot bread from Dublin

Mr. Bloom leaves home, but how will he get back in again?

As Mr. Bloom prepares breakfast for his wife, he thinks of her father, the Major.

We meet one of literature's most famous and delightful characters, Leopold Bloom of Eccles Street Dublin. 

Frank casts a brief backward glance over ChapterThree.

Yet another Baker's Dozen edition: The Introduction from the brand-new eBook, re: Joyce Volume One, which contains the transcripts of the first dozen podcasts.

In which Stephen, his teeth bothering him, leaves Sandymount Strand as Chapter Three ends.

Here we have a delightfully tricky cluster of references that range from Satan to a horse race in France.

Stephen has a few zombie thoughts about how a corpse will be changed by the sea.

Stephen listens to the rhythm of the waves and thinks of weavers at the loom.

 Stephen makes a contribution to the seven seas. 

Stephen considers having put himself in other people’s shoes.

Stephen has an unhealthy thought for the Book of Genesis.

 Touch & Go, Stephen dreams of yellow stockings and apple dumplings.

In which Stephen, naughty boy, takes the meaning of “ineluctable” a little farther.

In chapter 3 Frank discusses emblematic illustrations, bishops, religion and Aristotle.

As Stephen continues to write poetry we learn of Cassiopeia, augurs and their flights of birds, along with Freud, Jung, and Telemachus.

Frank discusses two quotes, one simple, one opaque, the latter filled with hidden symbolism, sexual desire and the connections that make them sing.

 Frank talks about Sylvia Beach and her part in brining Ulysses to the world. 

Frank discusses Joycean phrases including "Pin it Down" along with actor Kevin Spacey.

Stephen still on Sandymount. "Omnis caro ad te veniet." A pale vampire, and Douglas Hyde. Hamlet's tablets.

Still Proteus, still on Sandymount Strand, Stephen watches the "gypsy woman" pass. The handmaid of the moon. Bride-, child-, and death-beds.

The couple passes Stephen on the beach, and he wonders if the woman wonders about him - or his hat. Saint James, Hamlet, and Eve.

A bit of song: The Rogue's Delight and The Canting Academy. Morose delectation. Stephen muses on monkwords versus roguewords.

Stephen contemplates the lingo of rogues, and Frank introduces us to Thomas Harman and Richard Head.

The cocklepickers become Gypsies in Stephen's mind. Bing awast to Romeville.

Stephen's dream, almost. Haroun al Raschid. Adverb becomes verb.

The dogs digs; Thomas Gray's Elegy. Spouse-breach and pards, and Brunetto Latini's Tesoretto.

Tatters, the cocklepickers' dog, encounters a fallen comrade on Sandymount Strand and is called away. In Memoriam.

Still on Sandymount Strand: a dog, depicted with a painter's eye, barks at the sea. Heraldry. Seamorse… or seamouse?

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

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

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

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.

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

Just over halfway through Chapter 3, Proteus, we continue last week's passage. Sir Lout the gigant, and a live dog.

Stephen ascends from the tide, in both thought and motion, but finds only weeds, rocks, and rats. Louis Veuillot on Gautier, and an Arabian tale of sand and stone that may or may not be off-topic.

Stephen doesn't want to spend another night at Martello tower; luckily, his soul walks with him. Elsinore.

A return from Paris to Sandymount Strand, and the Kish lightship. Depressions in sand and soul, and time passing.

Paris still remembered on the Strand. Kevin Egan used to be a fine figure of a boy. Old bombs, old exiles, and old songs - and we're done with kevin Egan.

Continuing a paragraph, Kevin Egan in the Paris of Stephen's memory. Victoria and Maud Gonne, Millevoye and Faure. Bathtime. Next paragraph: the bomber smokes, and muses on the jailbreak of James Stephens. 

Conversations in Paris. Dalcassians, Arthur Griffith, pimander. Stephen as his father's son in Kevin Egan's eyes. A shirt tells a story.

Stephen still remembers Paris with Kevin Egan and Patrice: gunpowder cigarettes, absinthe, milk, coffee, and postprandials.

The smell of Paris, a sensual meditation, and a bit of French farce. Giacomo Joyce.

Stephen is not going to his aunt's house after all. Kevin Egan, and the works of the blasphemous M. Leo Taxil.

Still on Sandymount Strand. "Dan" Occam, the invincible doctor. Imagined bells and twinned principles.