Henri Matisse Illustrates James Joyce’s Ulysses

Henri Matisse Illustrates James Joyce’s Ulysses

Last year, fans of modernist Irish literature and impressionist art saw a must-own volume go under the hammer at Bonhams. “In 1935 the French artist, Henri Matisse, was commissioned to illustrate an edition of Ulysses for subscribers to the Limited Edition Club in America,” announced Artlyst. “Each of the 1,000 copies was signed by Matisse and 250 were also […]

An introduction to Ulysses

An introduction to Ulysses

Since its publication in 1922, readers have been daunted, dazzled and puzzled by Ulysses. Katherine Mullin introduces James Joyce’s novel, exploring both its commitment to modernist experimentation and to the portrayal of everyday life.  Reputation and reception James Joyce‘s Ulysses (1922) may be more talked about than read. It occupies an intimidating position within the […]

Carl Jung Writes a Review of Joyce’s Ulysses and Mails It To The Author (1932)

Carl Jung Writes a Review of Joyce’s Ulysses and Mails It To The Author (1932)

Feelings about James Joyce’s Ulysses tend to fall roughly into one of two camps: the religiously reverent or the exasperated/bored/overwhelmed. As popular examples of the former, we have the many thousand celebrants of Bloomsday—June 16th, the date on which the novel is set in 1904. These revelries approach the level of saints’ days, with re-enactments […]

“A Portrait Of The Artist As A Young Man” – James Joyce

“A Portrait Of The Artist As A Young Man” – James Joyce

The modernist classic, perhaps the greatest English-language Bildungsroman, turns 100 on December 29, 2016. To celebrate, we look at what makes the novel so special: its fierce defense of individualism and critical thought, and its unique portrayal of the artistic mind. Of the characteristics likely to be associated with James Joyce’s writing, two—his inventiveness of […]

The Joyce Girl

The Joyce Girl

Lucia Joyce was the daughter of James Joyce – ill-fated indeed to live in the shadow of such genius. Beloved yet unseen, in the manner of so many women, her own enormous talent and creative drive were subsumed in her father’s. Her tragic fate shadows this novel, dogging the reader with sad inevitability. I’m not giving […]

Finnegans Wake – in pictures

Finnegans Wake – in pictures

A new illustrated edition of Finnegans Wake, as imagined by artist John Vernon Lord for the Folio Society, matches James Joyce’s extravagant word games with elaborately collaged pictures, shedding a brilliant new light on Irish literature’s ‘book of the dark’. Here, Lord explains the thinking behind the images. Frontispiece The frontispiece illustration doesn’t apply to […]