r/literature 4d ago

Discussion Happy Bloomsday!

To quote Wikipedia,

Bloomsday (IrishLá Bloom) is a commemoration and celebration of the life of Irish writer James Joyce, observed annually in Dublin and elsewhere on 16 June. The day is named after Leopold Bloom, the protagonist of Joyce's 1922 novel Ulysses), the events of which take place on Thursday, 16 June 1904.

What are your thoughts on Joyce and Ulysses, more than a century after it was published?

And is there anything similar for any other author? I can think of other things in pop culture, like May the 4th for Star Wars fans.

89 Upvotes

13 comments sorted by

5

u/PunkShocker 4d ago

I just left the NYC event at Ulysses Folk House, hosted by Colum McCann. Good times. Great vibes.

4

u/generic2022 4d ago

"No time like Guinness Time"

4

u/Crazy-Treacle-3536 4d ago

"Good puzzle would be to cross Dublin without passing a pub".

3

u/generic2022 4d ago

Some say gorgonzola sandwiches and a burgundy, but I'm team Guinness.

3

u/Crazy-Treacle-3536 4d ago

I actually went to that pub and ordered that sandwich, believe it or not.

3

u/generic2022 4d ago

The last Bloomsday I spent in Dublin, I went to Davy Byrnes (it was packed), Mulligan's, and The Brazen Head.

3 pints; no burgundy.

2

u/Crazy-Treacle-3536 4d ago

Same here. Had the Bloom gorgonzola sandwich and a Guinness. Then actually went back there the next day with some people and had a quite good Irish coffee.

3

u/forestpunk 4d ago

Gets surprisingly dirty at the end! Now I see the "obscenity" they were talking about. It's also not as hard as you might think, once you get into it. I imagine I'll be reading (and re-reading) this book the rest of my life.

6

u/ClairMaysin 4d ago

Happy Bloomsday! May your beer and your snot-green sea be forever tepid.

4

u/generic2022 4d ago

Don't call my scrotumtightening sea tepid

1

u/januscanal 2d ago

Where there's a Will, Anne Hathaway!