Bloomsday — Seattle 2023

The Wild Geese Players of Seattle will present a staged reading of Episode 14, “Oxen of the Sun”, adapted from the 1922 edition of James Joyce’s Ulysses. Last year marked the centenary of the publication of Ulysses in 1922.

For our 26th annual reading, we’ll present Episode 14, “Oxen of the Sun”,
at 2:00pm on June 17, 2023 at the
Greenwood Branch of the Seattle Public Library,
8016 Greenwood Ave N,
Seattle, WA 98103.

Bloomsday (Bloom’s day, named for Ulysses’ main character, Leopold Bloom) refers to the 24-hour period on June 16, 1904 in which Ulysses is set. Joyce’s ground-breaking novel follows the wanderings of Bloom, a Jewish everyman, and Stephen Dedalus, a young writer and Joyce’s alter ego, as they wander the streets of Dublin.

In Episode 14, it is 10pm, and Leopold Bloom visits a maternity hospital, where poor Mina Purefoy is entering her 3rd day of labor. Bloom encounters a group of drunken medical students, who carry on wildly while discussing poor Mrs. Purefoy’s fate. In this episode, Joyce’s incomparable narrative celebrates the history of the English language through elaborate parodies and structures. At the same time, he reveals much about contemporary attitudes surrounding pregnancy and birth.

Script

Read along with the script. Adapted by George Reilly from the Project Gutenberg text.

Press Release

This is our twenty-sixth year of Bloomsday readings. (Press Release).

Commentary on Oxen of the Sun

• Text of Chapter 14
• U22 Podcast: Oxen of the Sun
• The Joyce Project: Oxen of the Sun
• Ulysses Guide
• Kennesaw Guide
• Cliff Notes
• Sparknotes
• The Joyce Portal
• The Sheila Variations
• Joyce Images
• Paul Debraski
• Shmoop Summary and Analysis
• Groden Notes
• Joyce’s Moraculous Sindbook: Suzette Henke — “Nausicaa”: Romantic Fantasy; “Oxen of the Sun”: Procreative Fantasy
• The Modern Word
• James Joyce’s Ulysses: Where It’s Always June 16, 1904 and Oxen of the Sun II
• 1982 RTÉ Recording

2023 Bloomsday Press Release

26th Annual Staged Reading of James Joyce’s Ulysses

The Wild Geese Players of Seattle join Bloomsday celebrations across the globe honoring Ulysses’ author James Joyce.

For our 26th annual reading, we’ll present Episode 14, “Oxen of the Sun”, at 2:00pm on June 17, 2023 at the Greenwood Branch of the Seattle Public Library, 8016 Greenwood Ave N, Seattle, WA 98103.

Bloomsday (Bloom’s day, named for Ulysses’ main character, Leopold Bloom) refers to the 24-hour period on June 16, 1904 in which Ulysses is set. Ulysses follows the wanderings of Bloom, a Jewish everyman, and Stephen Dedalus, a young writer and Joyce’s alter ego, as they wander the streets of Dublin.

In Episode 14, it is 10pm, and Leopold Bloom visits a maternity hospital, where poor Mina Purefoy is entering her 3rd day of labor. Bloom encounters a group of drunken medical students, who carry on wildly while discussing poor Mrs. Purefoy’s fate. In this episode, Joyce’s incomparable narrative celebrates the history of the English language through elaborate parodies and structures. At the same time, he reveals much about contemporary attitudes surrounding pregnancy and birth.

Since 1998, The Wild Geese Players of Seattle have presented staged readings of Irish literature, by writers such as James Joyce and W.B. Yeats. The Geese are a diverse group of people who share an interest in matters Irish. Some of us were born in Ireland, some have family connections, but we all enjoy Irish literature. We believe that poetry and certain novels are best read aloud, that some works are better heard than read.

For more information, visit the Wild Geese Players’ website www.WildGeeseSeattle.org, like our Facebook group, or follow @WildGeeseSea on Twitter.

Contacts:
Director: George Reilly WildGeeseSeattle@gmail.com
Publicity: Claudia Finn cfinnseattle@gmail.com