Happy Bloomsday

————

What is home without
Plumtree's Potted Meat?
Incomplete.
With it an abode of bliss.

————

From the casual admirer of James Joyce, to the cosplaying fanatic, Bloomsday [June 16] is the day to celebrate his life and works.

All major works except Finnegans Wake are available as free downloads at Gutenberg.org:

As you may know, I have created a digital edition of Finnegans Wake, but I still recommend the Penguin edition as the legitimate version in the United States, even though its formatting may not be optimal.

A Bloomsday celebration may be as simple or elaborate as you desire, but as with "Rocky Horror Picture Show," a few props may be appropriate:

At minimum I like to have "Power and cider" [Ulysses, p. 261], i.e. Powers whiskey and hard cider, and potted meat [p. 72] is an absolute must (unfortunately, Plumtree no longer exists). Of course, Guinness [p.78] is always good to have on hand for any occasion. As Powers may be difficult to obtain, one may substitute Jameson [p. 171] without penalty. References to Guinness and Jameson also abound in Finnegans Wake.

For a commemorative meal, organ meats [p.53] are an obvious choice. However, just about anything will do, such as "roast beef and cabbage," "stew," "corned and cabbage," "roast and mash," or even a "cheese sandwich" [pp. 161, ff.].

I've never been aware of any special events in Flagstaff specifically observing Bloomsday, though there have been annual soirees honoring Robert Burns and F. Scott Fitzgerald. In any case, given the pandemic it's even less likely for anything to happen this year. For the few years anyway that I've been celebrating, I've been inclined to do it quietly at home. Last year, I spent some time retracing my 2009 footsteps in Dublin, and collecting some additional notes, with which I have yet to update my travelogue.

Since I've never read the play Exiles, I may just do that tonight.

June 16, 2020


The Circular File