Fantastic. Michele Madigan Somerville is organizing a reading of James Joyce’s Ulysses at Ceol Pub on Smith Street.
The reading is on Bloomsday, of course: June 16th from 8-10 p.m. The novel’s protagonist is named Bloom and June 16th is the day the novel takes place on.
For years Symphony Space has done a full reading of Ulysses on Bloomday. But nothing in Brooklyn. Until now. Somerville is filling the void. Thanks for the correction Leon.
Yay for Michelle, who also does a monthly reading series at this pub—next up June 4th with Sharon Mesmer at 6:30. She sent out this note this morning and is calling out for readers. If you are interested, email her at mmsomerville(at)mindspring(dot)com.
If you are getting this note, it’s because you are one of my favorite
writers, thinkers, Ulysses fans and I want to invite you to join a
program of reading from the book aloud on Bloomsday, June
16th in the back room at Ceol Pub in Cobble Hill Brooklyn from
about 8 until 10:30 or so.Though my great fantasy is to one day do a "real time" reading (an
experiment my beloved Stein the Medievalist attempted in 1978 as part of the
original NYC collective effort to read Ulysses aloud on Bloomsday in real
time!) I thought I‘d start small, with about ten readers reading short
sections.If you are interested in reading something — pick a section and about 5-10
minutes and get back to me by email.If you love the idea, but feel that you don’t "know" the book well
enough, write back and we’ll discuss and figure something out —
especially if you are likely to be an exciting reader. I’ll set you up.If you are interested but unable to commit, just plan to come. If time
permits, we might be able to squeeze in impromptu readings.This is an informal reading. It is not a "performance."
I’ll do literary air traffic control — I’ll devise a slight structure
— so as to attempt to get as many books of the epic as is possible
represented. If there’s a section you are dying to claim, get back to me
quickly.I plan to read the final page or two of Penelope.
We need someone good (and prompt) to render the beginning Introibo
altare Dei. .So write back and say I said "Yes I will."
Feel free to pass this on to any Joyce mavens known to you. Some
of you are, I know, unavailable, but you may have pals who’d love to do this.
Slainte,
Michele