Friday, June 11
My wife and I are off to Europe in the morning. I'm delivering a paper at the massive James Joyce Symposium in Dublin. It's "massive" because June 16th of this year will be the 100th anniversary of Bloomsday, the day in which Ulysses is set. My paper isn't on Ulysses; it's on Joyce's other, weirder novel, Finnegans Wake, a novel that most Joyceans (let alone normal people) tend to avoid because it's so complex. When I was in grad school, there was (I think) only one other person (besides myself) in the English department who had read the entire thing--and that other person was my mentor. To tell you exactly how weird it is, let me explain my paper. I examine a recurring phrase in the novel. It's a telegram message from one figure to another. It's never the same message, but the four messages have enough things in common that it's clear they are connected. My paper--an academic paper, delivered to other Joyce experts (if I have any qualifications in academia, then I can call myself an expert on Joyce)--will basically explain what the messages are saying. That's it. You might think that's pretty simple, but it isn't--not by a long shot. I even had to dumb the essay down a bit so my audience would be able to follow all the twists and turns that go with any reading and interpretation of just a few words in Finnegans Wake.
So that's why I'm going to Dublin, but it's not why I'm going--if you know what I mean. Hell, my wife and I have been dying to get to Europe for years. I was there 10 years ago, but I only had a few days in Dublin and a few hours in London. She's never been. So we're going to spend a week in Dublin, see everything we can, and (occasionally) show up at the conference. Then we'll spend a week in London, see everything we can, and shop for books and music (well, I will, anyways; my wife usually goes for postcards and stuff like that).
So I'll be back and tell you all about it (though if I can find an Internet cafe, I might try posting while I'm there). In any event, enjoy the European Championships!
So that's why I'm going to Dublin, but it's not why I'm going--if you know what I mean. Hell, my wife and I have been dying to get to Europe for years. I was there 10 years ago, but I only had a few days in Dublin and a few hours in London. She's never been. So we're going to spend a week in Dublin, see everything we can, and (occasionally) show up at the conference. Then we'll spend a week in London, see everything we can, and shop for books and music (well, I will, anyways; my wife usually goes for postcards and stuff like that).
So I'll be back and tell you all about it (though if I can find an Internet cafe, I might try posting while I'm there). In any event, enjoy the European Championships!
