Blooms & Barnacles

How often does James Joyce think about the Roman Empire?

Topics in this episode include Leopold Bloom bullied by children and adults, stealing upon larks, the Oval, The Rose of Castille, Lenehan’s riddle unfulfilled, the Roman Empire as an analogue to the British Empire, puns, cloacae, the origin of the phrase “cloacal obsession,” H.G. Wells’ review of A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, MacHugh’s anti-imperial oratory, Stephen Dedalus’ favorite smells, “The Holy Office,” the British love of the watercloset, colonialist civilizing and British conquest, Sir John Harington and the first flush toilet, Ajax and a jakes, François Rabelais, Edward Said, and Dermot’s impression of H.G. Wells.

A Cloacal Obsession

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Ryan Kerr joins the Blooms & Barnacles podcast to discuss the racial politics of Ulysses. Topics include the minstrel show performer Eugene Stratton, the absence of black characters in Ulysses, and the depiction of anti-black racism within the novel.

Listen to the full episode at patreon.com/barnaclecast

“... it would be a shrewd dialectician indeed who would make much sense out of the editor’s crowings about North Cork militia with Spanish officers in Ohio.” - Robert M. Adams

Topics in this episode include the North Cork Militia, the Battle of Oulart, Ned Lambert’s superior improv skills, Bloom’s professionalism, Myles Crawford as a mirror to Mr. Deasy, what any of this has to do with Ohio, perfect cretics, incipient jigs, the symbol of the harp, why Lenehan is the worst, Lenehan’s outing in “Two Gallants”, Lenehan in Ulysses, Michael Hart, “The Boys of Wexford”, the Wolfe Tones, how and why songs change over time, and a curious end to a curious artefact.

MEMORABLE BATTLES RECALLED: The Sham Squire and the Boys of Wexford

Who Were the Real Men in Aeolus' Newsroom?

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A discussion with scholar Elizabeth Foley O'Connor about a minor but fascinating minor Ulysses character, Lizzie Twigg, and what her satirical depiction in "Lestrygonians" tells us about early 20th century politics and literature in Dublin, and whether or not she deserved Joyce's ire (she didn't). Also, a brief discussion of the art and legacy of Pamela Colman Smith.

Listen to the full episode at patreon.com/barnaclecast

—And here comes the sham squire himself! professor MacHugh said grandly.

Topics in this episode include the last vestiges of Doughy Daw’s effulgence, the mysterious identity of Wetherup, Myles Crawford, the real men behind Myles Crawford, red the correpsondent color of “Aeolus”, the Egyptian god Thoth, Crawford’s birdlike qualities, the birds of augury, banter, Francis Higgins the sham squire, the great scammers of history, the origin of the “sham squire” epithet, how Higgins took over the Freemen’s Journal, the 1798 Rebellion in Ireland, Theobald Wolfe Tone, and the betrayal of Lord Edward Fitzgerald.

MEMORABLE BATTLES RECALLED: The Sham Squire and the Boys of Wexford

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This is a recording of our live show from the 2023 Bloomsday Festival at the James Joyce Centre in Dublin. We discuss the occult influences on Ulysses with special guest Conner Habib.

https://connerhabib.com/

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We are thrilled to announce our upcoming live show as part of the Joycenights Festival at the Joyce Tower and Museum. We will be welcoming special guests Vivien Igoe and Robert Nicholson to talk about their upcoming book, "Tales from the Tower."

You can get your tickets here: https://joycetower.ie/events/blooms-barnacles-tales-from-the-tower-live-podcast/ 

Inspired by your beauty…effulgent.

Topics in this episode include lemon soap, Ned Lambert, Wilson Ruttledge, Hedges Eyre Chatterton, waiting for your rich uncle to die, Dan Dawson and “Our Lovely Land,” Aristotle’s Rhetoric, epideictic speeches, encomia for Helen, what Dan Dawson’s speech has in common with classical rhetorical treatises, making fun of subpar art, masturbatory art, Dan Dawson’s true identity, biscuitfully, misidentifying the Sacred Heart, weathercocks, getting to know J.J. O’Molloy, the real people behind J.J. O’Molloy, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Rhetoric and the Enthymeme in Aeolus

Who Were the Real Men in Aeolus' Newsroom?

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Dermot chats with Ulysses Seen artist Robert Berry about the joys of drawing Ulysses. 

To listen to the full episode and see a video version (very much recommended for this episode!), visit patreon.com/barnaclecast

Why is this Bloomsday different from all other Bloomsdays?

Topics in this episode include orthography, Dermot’s recollections of working in graphic design, the saving grace of calligraphy, spellingbee conundrums, dayfathers, nightfathers, Old Monks, unions, an obituary surprise, Passover and how it shows up in Ulysses, Rudolph Bloom’s Haggadah, how Charlton Heston traumatized us as children, seders, the oddity of a Catholic seder, embroideration, Bloom’s youthful atheism, the wisdom to be found in Bloom’s malapropisms, Bloom’s shocking lack of knowledge about Judaism, Chad Gadya, what Joyce knew about Passover, hypostasis, how Stephen Dedalus accidentally celebrates Passover, Ulysses as “an epic of two races,” and how Ulysses functions as an Irish Haggadah.

AND IT WAS THE FEAST OF THE PASSOVER