Today is Bloomsday, a day when James Joyce’s novel Ulysses is celebrated in Dublin and around the world. It was set on 16 June 1904 in Dublin, which was the actual day that Joyce met his lifelong partner Nora Barnacle. It’s kind of a day-in-the-life of various characters and indeed the city itself. It’s funny and challenging and musical and totally Irish, yet somehow universal. To me it’s always been a kind of secular holiday, a day to celebrate Joyce and Dublin. It’s mostly on-line this year but it’s still special. All day RTE has been broadcasting a full reading of the book, one made in 1982. It takes 32 hours in full! It’s wonderful though, beautifully delivered and making it much easier to understand; I’ve been listening most of the day.
I did run this morning and I’m glad I did. Something to mark the occasion when we can’t go to the city. Happy Bloomsday – hopefully next year will be different.
