tipsyturvy Ulysses

Wendy, Shinjini, and Eric have a simply gorgeous conversation with Vicki Mahaffey, the Clayton and Thelma Kirkpatrick Chair of English and Gender and Women's Studies at the University of Illinois and Wendy’s Ph.D. advisor, about the confusing episode of Scylla & Charybdis. It will leave you yearning for your English classes of yore, or wondering why on earth your English classes weren’t as good as this one.

We puzzle through Stephen’s ‘theories’ about Shakespeare and Hamlet and we consider the performativity of Stephen, Shakespeare’s plays, and our own social existence. We delve into Stephen’s preoccupation with being “unmanned” (both himself and Shakespeare) by an older woman and the sexism and anti-semitism circulating throughout the chapter.

Libations

Mentions:

See our new website and contact us on Twitter or at [email protected].

Theme song: “Come on Over” by Scalcairn, via Blue Dot Sessions

Special thanks to Carin Goldberg, whose cover design for the Gabler edition of Ulysses inspired our logo.

As happens so often in Ulysses itself, we interrupt linear chronology to reflect on a previous episode. In a retrospective kind of arrangement—to quote pretentious Dubliner Tom Kernan—we recall the good old days of episode 8: Lestrygonians.

We are joined by Catherine Flynn, Associate Professor of English at UC Berkeley, editor of the recently released Cambridge Centenary Ulysses, and host of U22 The Centenary Ulysses Podcast. After we challenge her claim to host the only podcast celebrating the centenary of Ulysses, she leads us to consider how everything is focused on food in this episode, and how it can “get out of control.” If everything can be consumed—food, bodies, colonies, empires—what might this episode tell us about our own world of intense consumer capitalism?

We relish the delicious language and narrative, but also choke and chew over the racist depiction in the Mr. MacTrigger limerick.

Libations:

Mentions:

See our new website and contact us on Twitter or at [email protected].

Theme song: “Come on Over” by Scalcairn, via Blue Dot Sessions

Special thanks to Carin Goldberg, whose cover design for the Gabler edition of Ulysses inspired our logo.

What do you get if you cross two nerds and a librarian? A very funny, very engaging, and very long episode of tipsyturvy Ulysses.

Our special guest, public engagement librarian at Georgia Tech, Charlie Bennett joins us to talk about the library episode Scylla and Charybdis.  Charlie, a new reader of Ulysses,  reflects on the accuracy of Joyce’s depiction of librarians and both the pleasures and pains of Joyce’s intentionally difficult, beautiful writing.

This episode, like Ulysses itself, is long but it’s totally worth it.

Libations

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Eric and Shinjini discuss “Lestrygonians,” a chapter they neither love nor hate. But they still have a lot to talk about even for a chapter that they are not super enthusiastic about. They talk about Bloom’s friendship with various other Dubliners, what he is having for lunch, and whom he is mysteriously running away from. As always they also talk about the chapter’s experimental style (or lack thereof). We should warn you that you might develop a sudden craving for a gorgonzola sandwich after listening to this episode!

Mentions:

Theme song: “Come on Over” by Scalcairn, via Blue Dot Sessions

Special thanks to Carin Goldberg, whose cover design for the Gabler edition of Ulysses inspired our logo.

Happy Bloomsday!!

Bloomsday is a commemoration and celebration of James Joyce’s Ulysses, held on the 16th June each year. Ulysses is set on 16th June 1904, commonly believed to mark the day that Joyce first walked out with Nora Barnacle, his life-long partner (and later wife).

Eric makes us all jealous as he tells us about the ultimate Bloomsday in Dublin, Ireland, where he meets the best character of Ulysses. Wendy tells us about her experiences organizing Bloomsday events in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois.

As is typical of Bloomsday celebrations across the world, the team read their favorite passages aloud.  Which episodes do they pick?

Mentions:

Theme song: “Come on Over” by Scalcairn, via Blue Dot Sessions

Special thanks to Carin Goldberg, whose cover design for the Gabler edition of Ulysses inspired our logo

To combat episodes that are too damn long, Eric, Wendy, and Shinjini record an after-hours lock-in: the official episode is over, and the metaphorical pub in which we record is closed, but there are still things to say, so we keep going (with admittedly fewer drinks than most pub lock-ins).

Just what is the point of Stephen's Parable of the Plums? Are the plum pits and juice—unlike the crumbs in "Hades"—cum? How similar is Eric's laugh to Stephen's?

Eric leads Shinjini and Wendy through discussion of Aeolus, one of his favorite episodes. He waxes rhapsodic about his amateur journalist days and Jeri Johnson's Oxford lectures on Ulysses. Other discussion topics include funny headlines, confusion over Stephen's story, and just whose life is changed by the simple act of lighting a match in one of the more confusing passages in Ulysses.

Recommendations:

Theme song: “Come on Over” by Scalcairn, via Blue Dot Sessions

Special thanks to Carin Goldberg, whose cover design for the Gabler edition of Ulysses inspired our logo.

In this special episode, Wendy challenges the group to a game that tests their knowledge of Ulysses and reveals “nice guy” Eric’s competitive side.

Drawing on Modernism’s love of chance, wyrd, and spiritual intervention, Wendy devised the “Oracle Game.” The aim of which is to test the group’s knowledge and divine the future!

You, dear listener, are invited to play along with Eric, Shinjini, and Wendy. The game is as follows:

The second “quick fire” round follows the same structure except the Oracle keeps reading until a player says “stop” and takes a guess.

Who will triumph in this game of knowledge and nerdery? What do the selections reveal about our future and fate? Tune in to find out!

Mentions:

Theme song: “Come on Over” by Scalcairn, via Blue Dot Sessions

Special thanks to Carin Goldberg, whose cover design for the Gabler edition of Ulysses inspired our logo.

Wendy leads everyone into hell in this episode as we attend Paddy Dignam’s funeral.  We ponder life, death, decomposition, and the difficulty of finding your own organs at the resurrection.

We discuss the “lump of dung” Simon Dedalus, and Shinjini finds Stephen a chip off the old block. Eric wonders, is there more to the sticky carriage than crumbs? Perhaps because we recorded on Easter Sunday, he seems hesitant to be explicit when talking about cum.

Finally, everyone examines one of Ulysses’ great mysteries (not love this time), but who is that “lankylooking galoot?” We’d all give a trifle to know.

Mentions:

Theme song: “Come on Over” by Scalcairn, via Blue Dot Sessions

Special thanks to Carin Goldberg, whose cover design for the Gabler edition inspired our logo.

Eric, Wendy, and Shinjini follow Bloom across the streets of 1904 Dublin, as he steps out of his home on 7 Eccles Street and embarks upon his Odyssey in the Hibernian metropolis. They talk about Bloom’s consumerism, purposeless wanderings in the city, and his random and sometimes unwelcome interactions with fellow Dubliners.

Highlights include discussions of South Asian representation in season two of Bridgerton, Martha Clifford’s dramatic letter, and tips on how to bet on horse racing (not really). Additionally, this episode again draws attention to the predatory urban male gaze.

Recommended Beverages:

Theme song: “Come on Over” by Scalcairn, via Blue Dot Sessions

Special thanks to Carin Goldberg, whose cover design for the Gabler edition inspired our logo.