posted
Apr 15, 2015
The Other Bloomsday 2015 — Press Release
The Wild Geese Players of Seattle will present a staged reading of
Chapter 2, “Nestor”, and Chapter 5, “The Lotus Eaters”,
adapted from the 1922 edition of James Joyce’s Ulysses,
on 2pm on Saturday, June 20th, 2015,
at The Seattle Central Library,
1000 Fourth Ave, Seattle, WA 98104
Map.
Donations towards costs of posters and props are welcome.
For this year’s reading of Ulysses, the Wild Geese Players are
continuing last year’s approach of following Joyce’s timeline for June
16th, rather than reading the chapters in strict linear order. We’ll
once again interweave the texts to highlight the parallel journeys of
Leopold Bloom and Stephen Dedalus during the novel’s ten o’clock hour.
In chapter 2 (“Nestor”), Stephen Dedalus, possibly Ireland’s most
lackluster schoolmaster, manages to get through a truncated set of
lessons—but not without continued ruminations about his mother,
mothering in general, and earlier annoyances by Mulligan and Haines.
Later, collecting his pay (already spent) from headmaster Deasy,
possibly Ireland’s most enthusiastic defender of cattle, Stephen endures
a review of Deasy’s perspectives on life, money, and Irish
history—generously larded with expectable points regarding the role of
Jews in world affairs.
Meanwhile, in chapter 5 (“Lotus-Eaters”), Leopold Bloom continues making
his way to Paddy Dignam’s funeral—but along the way, there are of course
several Things To Be Done. From the post office, he receives a letter
from his love-interest-by-mail (not put off by his last letter); stops
in to a Catholic church service to reflect on theological matters; runs
an errand for Molly at the chemists’, and picks up a bar of soap for
himself; and inadvertently supplies a betting tip to an acquaintance on
his way to the baths, where he envisions himself relaxing in full flower.
The reading is expected to take about 90 minutes.
The Wild Geese Players perform staged readings of Irish literature, by
writers such as James Joyce and W.B. Yeats, throughout the Seattle area.
We are a diverse group of people with an interest in Irish literature,
and most of us are either Irish-born or have Irish connections. More
generally, the Wild Geese refers to the Irish diaspora, after the
original Wild Geese, exiled Irish soldiers and their descendants who
served in European armies in the 16th–18th centuries.
Contact: www.WildGeeseSeattle.org |
WildGeeseSeattle@gmail.com
Click to read and post comments
posted
May 01, 2014
![[James Joyce]](https://www.WildGeeseSeattle.org/images/jj2.jpg)
One of Ireland’s greatest writers, James
Joyce is best known for his
novels, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young
Man,
Ulysses, and Finnegans
Wake.
Seattle Bloomsday
James Joyce’s novel Ulysses takes place on June 16th, 1904.
It follows the wanderings of Leopold Bloom, a Jewish everyman, and Stephen Dedalus,
a young writer and Joyce’s alter ego, as they wander the streets of Dublin.
The centenary of Bloomsday, June 16th, 2004, was celebrated worldwide.
The Wild Geese Players of Seattle will present a staged
reading of Ulysses,
chapter 1, “Telemachus”, and chapter 4, “Calypso”, on Sun 15th June
2014, at the Seattle Central Library.
See our Bloomsday page.
See our archives of our previous readings.
Links
We have collected some interesting links to Joyceana.
Click to read and post comments
posted
Apr 15, 2014
The Wild Geese Players of Seattle will present a staged reading of
Chapter 1, “Telemachus”, and Chapter 4, “Calypso”,
adapted from the 1922 edition of James Joyce’s Ulysses,
on 2pm on Sunday, June 15th, 2014,
at The Seattle Central Library
1000 Fourth Ave, Seattle, WA 98104
Map.
Donations towards costs of posters and props are welcome.
Our annual Bloomsday readings started in 1998
and last year we concluded Ulysses with the “Penelope” chapter.
We’re starting afresh this year, with the chapters that introduce
the two primary characters of the book,
Stephen Dedalus in Chapter 1, “Telemachus”, and Leopold Bloom in Chapter 4, “Calypso”.
Audio Recording
The Seattle Library
recorded our reading.
Chapter 1: Telemachus
“Stately, plump Buck Mulligan came from the stairhead”—one of the most
famous opening lines in English literature.
It’s 8am on June 16th, 1904: a fine summer’s day in Dublin.
Stephen Dedalus is temporarily staying with Buck Mulligan
and an Englishman at a Martello Tower south of Dublin.
Stephen is the brilliant aesthete who was the subject of James Joyce’s previous novel,
The Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man.
He is at odds with his irreverent host, who mocks him;
by the end of the chapter, he will set forth across Dublin, never to return to the Tower.
Chapter 4: Calypso
Meanwhile, Leopold Bloom is starting his day at his home at 7 Eccles Street
in Dublin’s city center.
Bloom, in contrast to Stephen, is a perfectly ordinary fellow.
For now, he concerns himself with preparing breakfast for his wife, Molly,
and worrying about her lover and about their absent daughter, Milly.
We’ll see deep into Bloom’s head and heart over the course of this day and this book.
Reading at the Seattle Central Library
The reading will be held in the Seattle Central Library at Level 4, Room 2
— Howard S. Wright Family & Janet W. Ketcham Meeting Room.
Please arrive before 2pm to find a seat.
The reading will take roughly 100 minutes.
Poster
We encourage you to download Ellen Coyle’s
Telemachus + Calypso poster
(PDF, 1.7MB) and post it around town.
Press Release
This is our seventeenth year of Bloomsday readings.
(Press Release).
Commentary
Telemachus (Chapter 1)
Calypso (Chapter 4)
Miscellaneous
Other Events
See our archives for details of our previous readings.
Click to read and post comments
posted
Apr 15, 2014
The Other Bloomsday 2014 - Press Release
The Wild Geese Players of Seattle will present a staged reading of
Chapter 1, “Telemachus”, and Chapter 4, “Calypso”,
adapted from the 1922 edition of James Joyce’s Ulysses,
on 2pm on Sunday, June 15th, 2014,
at The Seattle Central Library,
1000 Fourth Ave, Seattle, WA 98104
Map.
Donations towards costs of posters and props are welcome.
Each year, the Wild Geese Players stage a public reading to commemorate
this classic novel, which takes place entirely on June 16, 1904, also
known as Bloomsday. The readings started in 1998, and we have now
completed the entire novel, last year reaching the climax with the
concluding chapter - Molly Bloom’s soliloquy.
This year, the cycle begins again. We’ll be reading the 1st and 4th
chapters (known as Telemachus and Calypso), which are concurrent in the
novel. We’ll begin with a brief introduction and explanation of the
analogs to Homer’s Odyssey. While Ulysses is famously controversial,
difficult and lengthy, we’ve great success offering it in small, more
easily digested bites.
The Wild Geese Players stage readings of Irish literature, by writers
such as James Joyce and W.B. Yeats, throughout the Seattle area. We are
a diverse group of people with an interest in Irish literature, and most
of us are either Irish-born or have Irish connections. More generally,
the Wild Geese refers to the Irish diaspora, after the original Wild
Geese, exiled Irish soldiers and their descendants who served in
European armies in the 16th–18th centuries.
The reading is expected to take about 100 minutes.
Contact: www.WildGeeseSeattle.org |
WildGeeseSeattle@gmail.com
Click to read and post comments