Before We Begin:

Read the below.


I hate to do this, but experience has told me that I must.

If you don’t like Joyce, don’t comment today.

If you think I’m nuts for liking Joyce and spending so much time on him, don’t comment today.

If you think I’m an “elitist” for liking Joyce (I got that one last year), don’t comment today. As a matter of fact, don’t ever comment.

I’m not here to explain Joyce to people who already have a negative opinion of him. I’m not here to defend why I love him. I’m not here to reassure you that it’s okay that you don’t “get” Joyce. That’s not why I blog. I blog for me – to share my enthusiasms and passions.

If you’re not into what I’m into – then that’s fine – I’m not an evangelist. This is free content. No one forces anyone to read it. I’m not trying to convince anyone of anything. I am in this for ME. I am in this for the people who send me emails in February, or even last October – saying, “Just so you know: I make sure to stop by your blog every June 16!”

THOSE are the people this is for.

If you haven’t read Joyce but you’re open to all of this, and find this fun to read about, etc. … then have fun! There’s a lot of good stuff here.

Sorry – I hate to do posts like this – but it happens every year and I figured I’d just let you know that this is a celebration that I enjoy – and that’s what it’s all about.

It’s also for my father – who introduced me to Joyce. It’s Father’s Day coming up and it was just my dad’s birthday.

All of this is for him.

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15 Responses to Before We Begin:

  1. Dan says:

    Dang red, I was wondering why you were so ‘quiet’ yesterday. I should’ve known you had something cooking. Have a great day celebrating Joyce!

  2. red says:

    HAHAHAHAHA

    I’ve been a busy Oompa Loompa over here!

  3. Lisa says:

    Oh, well, all RIGHT. ;)

    See ya tomorrow!

  4. Another Sheila says:

    I can’t believe people actually write shit like that to you. “Elitist?” What a moron.

    Thank you for doing this. I’ve been scrolling and reading for 45 minutes, and am engrossed … laughing, crying, marvelling.

    I especially love all the people who are/were like, “Well, that’s it — no point in my trying to write anything now. Might as well pack it in.” Hahaha. Like, T.S. Eliot, who wrote one of the greatest poems of the 20th century, wanted to throw in the towel after reading Ulysses! And I loved the quote from the essay you posted the other day about The Dead (Mary … can’t remember): “And he did it all before the age of 25. The bastard.” Hahahaha, I LOVE that kind of stuff. It’s true … there’s just nothing to do with genius like that but bow down to it and then plod on with your comparitive mediocrity. The fact that Gertrude Stein COULDN’T do that with him only validates for me the distaste I’ve always had for her stuff. Her “greatness” is totally lost on me.

    Your Bloomsday extravaganza of last year lit a fire under me to FINALLY read Ulysses that I soon extinguished. But once again, I am motivated to do it!!!!

  5. red says:

    sheila – hahahaha I know – all these great modernist writers going: “Well … er … I was experimenting … he actually DID it!”

    Also, man how I would have loved to have hung out in Paris with all those ex-pats. Hemingway, the Fitzgeralds, the Joyces – just all of ’em!!! A bunch of drunks and lunatics!

  6. Another Sheila says:

    I KNOW!!! Lounging around in cafes, drinking endlessly, going to … like … Antibes for 5-day parties, holding salons. The LIFE. I just ordered “Everybody Was So Young”, the bio of Gerald and Sara Murphy of that crowd. Can’t wait to transport myself right into that world for a few days.

    Also, I love Nora. Love love love. Love her total abandonment of convention, love their insane, complicated relationship, love the hold she had over him, love it all, and loved your post about her. You know how sometimes you read a book or see a film and think, “I don’t know exactly why or how, but I’m pretty sure that just changed my life.” I read a bio of her in college, and that’s how I felt afterwards.

  7. red says:

    Sheila – have you seen the movie Nora? With Ewan McGregor as Joyce? (Strange, I know – but he does a pretty good job!) It’s not a perfect film, and it meanders about a bit – but there is a lot in it that is well worth seeing. It’s not about him as a writer – although of course that’s part of it – The main focus is their relationship.

    A good friend of mine is in it as Joyce’s snooping prudish younger sister.

    It’s also very very sexy. Just a heads up – not one to watch with the kids! :)

  8. Another Sheila says:

    I haven’t seen it, but I’ve heard of it. I’ll definitely check it out (sans littles!)

  9. Emily says:

    I’m glad you wrote this; I wrote a similar disclaimer when I posted about Syd Barrett. I’m seriously becoming deeply, deeply annoyed by people who leave comments like “I never got into The Band” or “I don’t give a rats ass about Bob Dylan” when I post about artists I like and admire. So what? WTF does a comment like that contribute to anything? So skip my bloody post and go read one of the squillions of other blogs that are writing about something you do care about. It’s getting to the point where I’m so close to being outright rude to people over it. And don’t even get me started on the “how can you post about something as frivolous as entertainment when there’s a war going on” remarks. Dude, I am not Time magazine, m’kay? It’s a blog, which by definition, at least by everyone who isn’t some self-important poseur who takes this stuff too seriously, is completely @#$%ing frivolous to begin with.

    Have a blast today, Sheila. Maybe by next year I’ll have cracked Ulysses and will be able to participate in the celebration.

  10. red says:

    Emily – and even when you warned people ahead of time, didn’t someone STILL say “I don’t like him”? I mean, honestly!!

    I think some people truly feel like they need to comment on every post. And if they can’t – they will anyway. hahahaha

    I find that attitude so bizarre – but I think it’s true!!

    Oh and shit, I had something to tell you about Syd Barrett. I reminded myself of it a couple days ago and now I have blanked it out – whatever it was. I will remember!! Let me think a moment or two – I just came across his name in the last couple of days and wanted to let you know what it was about … But … i have a sieve brain. It’ll come to me.

    I think some people feel like a blog is a group event. I love that I have comments – but for me it’s not really a group event. It’s not meant to be inclusive. I’ve written about this before. If I tried to run an “inclusive” blog then every sentence would have to start with something like:

    “I realize that not everyone enjoys Cary Grant …”

    “Many people will disagree with me on this, but I have always felt …”

    I just try to edit that shit out now and cut to the chase. This blog is about what I’m into. Plain and simple.

    With Joyce, I definitely get the angry “you East Coast elitists” response – which is a complete projection. Not my problem.

    I do not feel at all threatened and baffled by people who are into something I have no interest in. I’m more curious about it than anything else.

    And yeah – hahahaha with the Time magazine comment.

    So strange.

  11. Ken says:

    Holy petunia–I’d have had to start typing in March to get this much posted. And to come anywhere near your level of insight while I were at it, I’d have had to start in February…

    …of 2005.

    Your ability is amazing.

    Professor McGonagall asks me to tell you that she would very much like her Time-Turner back, please. ;-)

  12. red says:

    hahahahahaha

    Much of this is just a matter of cutting and pasting – not actual typing! Phew!

    But yeah – digging up the quotes is what takes a long time. But I started compiling a couple weeks ago!

    Because I’m a geek!!

  13. Emily says:

    It’s total projection. Just because YOU don’t get it doesn’t mean anyone who did is some snob who thinks they’re better than you. Obviously the guy’s got an audience – his work wouldn’t have stood up for so long on the basis of phoney people pretending they’ve read his stuff to try and come off as smart or something, which a lot of people sort of implied.

    I don’t even mind people who have strong negative opinions regarding something that I post about, as long as they’re not too vicious or have that “I’m right/you’re wrong” attitude. Like, I can almost tolerate someone with a psychotic, irrational hatred of Bob Dylan more than someone who just drops in to tell me how much they don’t care about him. SO WHAT? I do. Piss off. It’s pointless. If you don’t care, why do you have the need to tell me?

    But yeah, I remember when you posted about Bloomsday in the past, seeing these other posts carrying on about James Joyce and how sick they were of people writing about him, as if everyone on the internet is supposed to consult with them personally to make sure the subjects they choose to write about meet their standards. Whatever. It’s subjective. I’m not here to entertain you personally. Like you said, a blog isn’t a collective. I love comments if people have something to add to what I choose to write about, but if you’re not going to contribute overall other than to register your boredom with the subject? @#$% you.

  14. Matt says:

    Sheila,

    Don’t know if anyone else posted this yet, but The Onion has a really funny Bloomsday article:

    http://www.theonion.com/content/node/49429

  15. red says:

    I did see that! Hysterical!!!

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