tipsyturvy Ulysses

tipsyturvy Ulysses

By Eric LewisArtsBooks
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tipsyturvy Ulysses episodes

  • Calypso Fan Fiction: "Print anything now"

    In the first very special episode of tipsyturvy Ulysses, Eric, Wendy, and Shinjini set aside the next episode of Ulysses in favor of a Joycean digression. Eric introduces Wendy and Shinjini to some of his favorite allusions to and imitations of “Calypso”—specifically, a passage from Zoë Wicomb’s David’s Story (2000) and a response to a short story assignment from a class in which Eric taught Ulysses.

    (If Joyce has any serious competition in Eric's heart, it's Zoë Wicomb.)

    Recommended Resources:

    • Eric’s article on Ulysses intertexts: “Tupperware and Flowerville: Consumerism, identity politics, and intertextuality in David’s Story and Ulysses”
    • The novels of Zoë Wicomb, especially David’s Story and Playing in the Light
    • Wicomb’s essay about “coloured” identity and immediately post-apartheid politics in South Africa: “Shame and identity in the case of the coloured in South Africa”
    • A great essay about the history of “coloured” identity in South Africa during and after apartheid: Mohamed Adhikari, “Hope, Fear, Shame, Frustration: Continuity and Change in the Expression of Coloured Identity in White Supremacist South Africa, 1910-1994”
    • Eric’s style imitation assignment

      • 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, and Caroline Smith, who allowed us to read and discuss her excellent short story.

      Eric recently discussed Ulysses as a guest on the library research podcast Lost in the Stacks with future tipsyturvy Ulysses guest Charlie Bennett as part of their ongoing series "How to Read a Book."

      1 hr 1 min
    • Ulysses Ep. 4: Calypso: "Mrkgnao!"

      Eric, Wendy, and Shinjini fangirl about “Calypso”—a breath of fresh air after “Proteus.” They celebrate the episode’s wonderful opening and introduction of Bloom (picking up on last episode’s urine talk), critically examine Bloom’s parenting, and wonder why different people are taken with particular passages.

      Highlights include a dramatic reading and subsequent analysis of the most realistically psychologically rendered shit in literature, discussion of Joyce’s rumored “cloacal obsession,” and reflection upon predatory urban male gazes.

      Recommended Resources:

      • For more on Bloom, Milly, and photography, see Georgina Binnie-Wright’s “‘Photo girl he calls her’: Re-reading Milly in Ulysses” in the Journal of Modern Literature
      • Wanda Wulz is the Triestine photographer whose name Eric couldn’t remember—she’s especially famous for the photo combining her face with a cat’s, “Io + gatto”

        • No theme song this week because of technical difficulties.

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

        1 hr 24 min
      • Ulysses Ep. 3: Proteus: "But I prefer Q"

        Eric, Wendy, and Shinjini grapple with the most difficult episode of Ulysses so far: “Proteus.” They sympathize with Stephen’s mad ambitions and imposter syndrome, celebrate his occasional, accidental artistic success, and rue his occasional fear and cruelty.

        Highlights include some urine talk (a preview for next episode) and a joke we creatively cut around.

        Recommended Beverages:

        • Wendy: Georgia Red Lager, by Tucker Brewing Company, Tucker, GA
        • Eric: Yorkshire Tea (provided by Wendy), Taylors of Harrogate, Harrogate, Yorkshire, UK
        • Shinjini: Earl Grey Tea

          • 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.

          1 hr 6 min
        • Ulysses Ep. 2: Nestor: "Amor matris" with Michelle Martinez

          Eric and Wendy are joined by Michelle Martinez, Wendy’s grad school classmate and BFF, to discuss her favorite parts of “Nestor.” 

          Michelle is a current poetry indexer and permissions coordinator for a large poetry organization, recovering academic, and chicana feminist crockpot fiend with a Ph.D. in English lit. A guest was necessary, since, until the recording, Eric and Wendy thought “Nestor” was … fine, but maybe feel differently by the end?

          Highlights of the conversation include Michelle’s four-month-old’s timely appearance as we discuss “amor matris,” discussion of Deasy’s QAnon resonance, debate over what it means that God is a shout in the street, and, finally, the pod’s casting of the perfect Ulysses movie Deasy.

          Recommended Resources:

          • Frank Budgen, James Joyce and the Making of Ulysses (Even if everyone makes fun of his reading of Deasy.)
          • Technically Pop, Eric’s other pop culture discussion podcast with Georgia Tech colleagues

            • Recommended Beverages:

            • Wendy: Sprezzatura (pilsner—not pizza), by Arches Brewing, Hapeville, GA
            • Eric and Michelle: Yorkshire Tea (provided by Wendy), Taylors of Harrogate, Harrogate, Yorkshire, UK
            • Eric: SeaQuench Ale (session sour), by Dogfish Head Craft Brewery, Milton, DE

              • 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.

              1 hr 19 min
            • Ulysses Ep. 1: Telemachus: "Ghoul! Chewer of corpses"

              Eric, Wendy, and Shinjini discuss gender and relationships in the first episode of Ulysses: “Telemachus.” Is the banality of Ulysses fun or frustrating? In what way is Stephen Dedalus like Luke Skywalker? Is the black panther Haines dreams of a penis and pussy thing?

              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.

              47 min
            • "Preparatory to anything else ..."

              Eric and Wendy discuss what attitude, information, and resources are helpful when approaching Ulysses for the first time. What are the advantages of various editions of Ulysses? Do you need to read the Odyssey first? Is amount of spunk a compelling measure of virility?

              Also, Eric struggles to remember Hugh Kenner’s 1972 euphemism for sex. It turns out it’s “the physical moment.”


              Recommended Resources:

              • Ulysses (The Gabler Edition)
              • Ulysses (The Oxford University Press 1922 Text Edition)
              • The RTE dramatization of Ulysses
              • Ulysses Annotated, by Don Gifford
              • The New Bloomsday Book, by Harry Blamires
              • The Odyssey, translated by Robert Fagles
              • The schemata
              • Local bookstores!
              • “Molly’s Masterstroke,” by Hugh Kenner
              • “Molly’s Mistressstroke,” by Margaret Honton


                • 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.

                41 min
              • Who Are We When We're at Home?

                Eric, Wendy, and Shinjini introduce themselves and the podcast. Who are they when they’re at home? What’s their history with Ulysses? Whose first experience with Ulysses is sadder or more fun?


                Recommended Beers:

                • Eric: Tritonia (gose), by Creature Comforts, Athens, GA
                • Wendy: Bourbon Barrel-Aged Drafty Kilt [Fancy Kilt] (Scotch Ale), by Monday Night Brewing, Atlanta, GA


                  • 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.

                  38 min

                About tipsyturvy Ulysses

                From the publisher's feed

                Three friends, and an occasional guest, talk about the fun bits of James Joyce's Ulysses over a beer, episode by episode. In each episode, we—Eric, Wendy, and Shinjini—will explore the parts of…