Blooms & Barnacles

Subscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:

Decoding Dedalus: Saint Thomas' New Viennese School — Blooms & Barnacles

Bonus Ep. 38 - Richard III [TEASER]

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Kelly Bryan) — Fri, 27 Feb 2026 20:52:21 +0000

We discuss the 1955 film version of Richard III.

Listen to or watch the full episode at patreon.com/barnaclecast

Richard and Gilbert and Edmund and Will

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Blooms & Barncles) — Wed, 25 Feb 2026 05:00:00 +0000

What if the Shakespeares were really a bunch of crumb-bums?

Topics in this episode include Shakespeare’s brothers Gilbert, Richard, and Edmund, which ones Stephen thinks were bad brothers and which were good brothers, whether Shakespeare turned his brothers into villains in his plays, Anne Hathaway’s relationship to her brothers-in-law, why Shakespeare’s brothers never married, Gilbert and Richard’s criminal records, whether Gilbert traveled to London to see As You Like It, Edmund’s attempt to become an actor, which one was Shakespeare’s favorite brother, wrastlin’, brotherly incest and psychoanalysis, Stephen’s owned disappeared brother Maurice, and justice for Mr. Best.

Support us on Patreon to get episodes early, and to access bonus content and a video version of our podcast.

On the Blog:

Blooms & Barnacles Social Media:

Subscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:

Rutlandbaconsouthamptonshakespeare

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Blooms & Barnacles) — Wed, 18 Feb 2026 05:00:00 +0000

In which, Stephen proves through algebra that Hamlet’s grandson is Shakespeare’s grandfather.

Topics in this episode include Puritanism, whether or not Anne Hathaway became a religious fanatic late in life, Shakespeare’s daughter Susanna and her Puritan husband, the squandering of Shakespeare’s estate after his death, “Venus and Adonis,” the mystical estate of paternity, Hamlet and paternity, the Sabellian heresy, the authorship question, possible Shakespeare ghost writers, Buck Mulligan’s roasts, and James Joyce proves through algebra that he is his own father, just like Jesus and Shakespeare.

Support us on Patreon to get episodes early, and to access bonus content and a video version of our podcast.

Blooms & Barnacles Social Media:

Subscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:

Decoding Dedalus: Saint Thomas' New Viennese School — Blooms & Barnacles

Bonus Ep. 37 - Hamnet [TEASER]

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Kelly Bryan) — Sat, 31 Jan 2026 12:41:46 +0000

We review the 2025 Chloe Zhao film, Hamnet.

To watch or listen to the full episode, visit patreon.com/barnaclecast

Pray for us, Saint Thomas

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Kelly Bryan) — Wed, 28 Jan 2026 05:00:00 +0000

Ora pro nobis! Pogue mahone! Acushla machree!

Topics in this episode include Thomas Aquinas (but less than you might expect), Aquinas’ views on incest, the meaning on “new Viennese school,” whether or not Joyce had any interest in psychoanalysis (and whether it matters), how Joyce may have encountered psychoanalysis in Zurich, Professor Edward Dowden, the work of psychoanalyst Otto Rank and his view on Hamlet specifically, Hamlet as an Oedipal text or an “incest drama”, the notion of Shakespeare writing Hamlet to process the death of his father, the theme of paternity in Ulysses, Stephen’s recognition of the historic resilience of Jewish communities, Nobodaddy, whether or not Reddit atheists have embraced the poetry of William Blake, and what John Eglinton and the Unabomber have in common.

NIGHTTOWN in the Netherlands — tickets here

Support us on Patreon to get episodes early, and to access bonus content and a video version of our podcast.

On the Blog:

Blooms & Barnacles Social Media:

Subscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:

Decoding Dedalus: He drew Shylock out of his own long pocket.

Why Stephen Talks about Shylock

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Blooms & Barnacles) — Wed, 14 Jan 2026 05:00:00 +0000

Isn’t Carrotty Bess great?

Topics in this episode include why Stephen compares Shakespeare to Shylock, Shakespeare’s father John Shakespeare and his many business ventures, his legal troubles caused by some of those business ventures, Shakespeare’s corn-hoarding during a famine, the irony of Irish Nationalists being devoted to Shakespeare, Shakespeare’s role in providing propaganda for Britain’s colonial project, Mr. Deasy’s thoughts on Shakespeare, Chettle Falstaff, the time Shakespeare sued a guy over some malt, how The Merchant of Venice stoked Elizabethan antisemitism, plays that Shakespeare wrote to please various monarchs, James I and Macbeth, political propaganda found in Shakespeare’s comedies, and why Stephen’s point-of-view as an Irish person alters his interpretation of Shakespeare.

Support us on Patreon to get episodes early, and to access bonus content and a video version of our podcast.

On the Blog:

Blooms & Barnacles Social Media:

Subscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:

Secondbest Bed

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Blooms & Barnacles) — Wed, 3 Dec 2025 05:00:00 +0000

Sometimes the secondbest bed is the better bed.

Topics in this episode include Griselsa, Antisthenes and Helen, art of surfeit, the Dark Lady of the sonnets, the erotic adventures of Shakespeare and Richard Burbage, how the Dark Lady connects the works of Shakespeare to the world of Ulysses, misogyny in the interpretation of Shakespeare, the binary of Stratford and London, William Davenant, Fetter Lane of Gerard, giglot wantons, Anne Hathaway’s supposed infidelity, Anne’s debt to a shepherd, Shakespeare’s will and the secondbest bed, and why it isn’t as damning as one might assume.

Support us on Patreon to get episodes early, and to access bonus content and a video version of our podcast.

Blooms & Barnacles Social Media:

Subscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:

The Chap that Writes like Synge

Bonus Ep. 35 - The Portrait of Mr. W.H. [TEASER]

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Blooms & Barnacles) — Thu, 27 Nov 2025 15:17:35 +0000

We discuss Shakespeare's sonnets, the identities of the Fair Youth and Dark Lady, and the Oscar Wilde short story "The Portrait of Mr. W.H."

To hear the full episode, visit patreon.com/barnaclecast

Synge

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Blooms & Barnacles) — Wed, 19 Nov 2025 05:00:00 +0000

Why do we always fight most with the people we have the most in common with?

Topics in this episode include James Joyce’s fraught relationship with playwright John Millington Synge, the way Synge shows up in Ulysses, in-jokes about Yeats that made it into Ulysses, Synge’s artistic work and why Joyce took issue with it, Synge’s connection to the Aran Islands, Synge’s eccentricities, pampooties, Joyce and Synge in Paris, Oisín and Patrick, Joyce and Synge as the personification of the duality found in “Scylla and Charybdis,” why Synge is not like Aristotle, why Joyce is bourgeois, Joyce’s Italian translation of Riders to the Sea, riots in response to The Playboy of the Western World, and Joyce’s ultimate appreciation of Synge’s work.

Support us on Patreon to get episodes early, and to access bonus content and a video version of our podcast.

On the Blog:

Blooms & Barnacles Social Media:

Subscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:

An Intimate Portrait of Mr. W. H.

Mr. W. H.

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Blooms & Barnacles) — Wed, 5 Nov 2025 05:00:00 +0000

“—Do you think it is only a paradox? the quaker librarian was asking. The mocker is never taken seriously when he is most serious.”

Topics in this episode include Oscar Wilde’s “The Portrait of Mr. W.H.,” Shakespeare’s sonnets, the identity of the Fair Youth, the dedication on the folio of Shakespeare’s sonnets, the identity of Mr. W.H., Willie Hughes, homoeroticism in Sonnet 20, camp, the meaning of “ephebe,” Wilde’s connection of same-sex relationships in ancient Greece and the work of Shakespeare, gay coding in “Scylla and Charybdis,” the chilling effect of Oscar Wilde’s trial, Oscar Wilde as a model for Buck Mulligan, Lyster and Eglinton as foils for Mulligan, homophobia in “Scylla and Charybdis,” and Joyce’s thoughts on Oscar Wilde and homosexuality.

Support us on Patreon to get episodes early, and to access bonus content and a video version of our podcast.

On the Blog:

Blooms & Barnacles Social Media:

Subscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:

Puck Mulligan: A Joycean-Shakespearean Fool

Bonus Ep. 34 - Robert Anton Wilson w/ Eric Wagner [TEASER]

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Eric Wagner, Blooms & Barnacles) — Mon, 3 Nov 2025 08:07:32 +0000

We interview author Eric Wagner about his new book, Straight Outta Dublin: James Joyce and Robert Anton Wilson

To listen to the full interview, visit patreon.com/barnaclecast

Puck Mulligan

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Blooms & Barnacles) — Wed, 22 Oct 2025 04:00:00 +0000

You will serve that which you laugh at.

Topics in this episode include how to pronounce “Szombathely,” Buck Mulligan’s incredible entrance into “Scylla and Charybdis,” Nicolas Cage, the heresies of Photius and Sebellius, Gloria in Excelsis Deo, why the other men must be relieved to see Buck Mulligan, whether we agree with Joyce’s claim that Mulligan wears on the reader throughout the course of Ulysses, Buck Mulligan playing the role of a Shakespearean fool in Ulysses, Will Kempe, why Mulligan’s tomfoolery must be directed at Stephen, why Mulligan’s clowning is ultimately hollow, Buck Mulligan as God’s messenger, why Stephen doesn’t accomplish anything on Bloomsday, Mulligan’s shifting identity, and joking for joking’s sake.

Support us on Patreon to get episodes early, and to access bonus content and a video version of our podcast.

On the Blog:

Blooms & Barnacles Social Media:

Subscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:

The Spirit of Reconciliation

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Blooms & Barnacles) — Wed, 8 Oct 2025 10:56:16 +0000

Bitches love sonnets.

Topics in this episode include putting Beurla on it, basilisks and 13th century bestiaries, Pericles and purported Shakespeare apocrypha, the Baconian theory of Shakespeare authorship, Bacon ciphers, George Brandes, Sidney, Frank Harris, the power of a granddaughter’s love, Hans Walter Gabler and the most controversial line in Ulysses, Thomas Aquinas, George Bernard Shaw’s take on Shakespeare, we finally get to the sonnets, Mary Fitton, William Herbet, Shakespeare’s trauma, consubstantiality, and one of the best entrances in all of literature.

Support us on Patreon to access episodes early, bonus content, and a video version of our podcast.

Blooms & Barnacles Social Media:

Subscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:

Decoding Dedalus: Christfox in Leather Trews

Nightwood [TEASER]

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Kelly Bryan) — Tue, 30 Sep 2025 13:52:01 +0000

We discuss Djuna Barnes' novel Nightwood

Listen to the full episode at patreon.com/barnaclecast

Quaker Librarian

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Blooms & Barnacles) — Wed, 24 Sep 2025 04:00:00 +0000

I, for one, think geese really do have souls.

Topics in this episode include librarian Thomas Lyster and his Quaker faith, why Lyster always seems to be dancing in “Scylla and Charybdis,” the journal of Quaker founder George Fox, what James Joyce knew about the Quakerism, Christfox, leather trews, confusing Shakespeare and George Fox in the context of “Scylla and Charybdis,” whether or not women have souls, George Fox traveling about debating people about religion, Stephen’s jealousy of spiritual leaders who attract women, Anne Hathaway at the end of her life, the real Thomas Lyster, how the real Lyster compares to the Ulysses version, what “baldpink lollard costard” means, and the extremely petty reason Joyce wrote Lyster the way he did.

Support us on Patreon to access episodes early, bonus content, and a video version of our podcast.

On the Blog:

Blooms & Barnacles Social Media:

Subscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:

Decoding Dedalus: Yogibogeybox in Dawson chambers.

Yogibogeybox

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Blooms & Barnacles) — Wed, 10 Sep 2025 04:00:00 +0000

We finally learn the weirdest thing that Joyce and Gogarty got up to.

Topics in this episode include Giacomo Joyce and dirty love letters, the pain of not being invited, Æ’s New Songs and Joyce’s exclusion from it, why Æ Russell hasn’t released any new songs this year, Aristotle’s experiment, the meaning of nookshotten, Shakespeare plays as political propaganda, so much theosophy, the true yogibogeybox, a pawned Pali book, the time Gogarty and Joyce vandalized the chambers of the Hermetic Society, Æ the chick magnet, Joyce’s incel era, Louis H. Victory, T. Caulfield Irwin, elitism in theosophy, and Æ the gulfer of souls.

Support us on Patreon to access episodes early, bonus content, and a video version of our podcast.

On the Blog:

Blooms & Barnacles Social Media:

Subscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:

A Shakespearean Ghost Story Part 2: Anne Hath a Way

Bonus Ep. 32 - Giacomo Joyce [TEASER]

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Blooms & Barnacles) — Mon, 1 Sep 2025 12:33:15 +0000

We discuss the James Joyce short story, Giacomo Joyce.

To listen to the full episode, or see a video version, check out patreon.com/barnaclecast

Anne Hath a Way

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Blooms & Barnacles) — Wed, 27 Aug 2025 04:00:00 +0000

No, not that Anne Hathaway. The Shakespearean one.

Topics in this episode include Socratididion’s Epipsychidion, unparalleled pettiness, Stephen’s unfair characterization of Shakespeare’s wife Anne Hathaway, why commentary about Anne Hathaway has been so problematic historically, Anne as a Gertrude stand-in, how we can learn factual information about the Shakespeares’ lives, sixteenth century age gap discourse, Anne and Will’s marriage prospects, “Venus and Adonis,” marriage and weddings in Elizabethan England, how Anne Hathaway became a symbol of Victorian propaganda, Shakespeare and the “Scylla and Charybdis” schema, and why Ulysses is a terrible place to go to learn about Shakespeare’s life.

Support us on Patreon to access episodes early, bonus content, and a video version of our podcast.

On the Blog:

Blooms & Barnacles Social Media:

Subscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:

Decoding Dedalus: Entelechy, Form of Forms

AEIOU

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Blooms & Barnacles) — Wed, 13 Aug 2025 04:00:00 +0000

Stephen Dedalus beats debt with this one simple trick!

Topics incluce: “Scylla and Charybdis’” dialectic as metacommentary on Ulysses as a whole, the perils of offending the gods of the sea, Stephen takes offense to Æ, Stephen’s many debts, the artistic value of green room gossip, contrasting Æ and Mr. Deasy, Stephen as the ship of Theseus, Aristotelian logic destroying Stephen’s sill loophole, Fr. Conmee, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, form of forms, entelechy, and many, many tangents.

Support us on Patreon to access episodes early, bonus content, and a video version of our podcast.

On the Blog:

Blooms & Barnacles Social Media:

Subscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:

Decoding Dedalus: Hamlet, ou le Absentminded Beggar

Bonus Ep. 31 - Hamlet [TEASER]

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Kelly Bryan) — Wed, 6 Aug 2025 18:53:24 +0000

We decided to brush up on our Hamlet knowledge in the only way we know how -- by watching a movie from the forties! We watch and discuss Laurence Olivier's Hamlet from 1948.

Listen to the full episode at patreon.com/barnaclecast

Hamnet

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Blooms & Barnacles) — Wed, 30 Jul 2025 04:00:00 +0000

Stephen Dedalus finally gets to the fireworks factory.

Topics in this episode include lots of Hamlet, Stephen introduces his theory of Hamlet, James Joyce’s Shakespeare sources, Elizabethan slang, Sackerson the bear, everything we know about the real Hamnet Shakespeare, Shakespeare’s reaction to his son’s death, how Hamnet’s death shows up in the works of Shakespeare, Shakespeare’s reaction to his father’s death, Shakespeare as a commercial artist, audience interpretations of Hamlet over the centuries, Freudian analysis of Hamlet, how Æ’s objections predict the New Criticism movements of the 20th century, and how all this talk of Shakespeare is actually about Leopold Bloom.

Support us on Patreon to access episodes early, bonus content, and a video version of our podcast.

On the Blog:

Blooms & Barnacles Social Media:

Subscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:

The Absentminded Beggar

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Blooms & Barnacles) — Wed, 16 Jul 2025 04:00:00 +0000

Was Hamlet just distracted the whole time?

Topics in this episode include: the continued character assassination of Mr. Best, Haines makes a return, Douglas Hyde’s poetry, the artistic ethos of the Celtic Revival, the political demands of the art scene in 1904 Dublin, Æ, symbolist poetry and Stéphane Mallarmé, the influence of Mallarmé on Joyce, “Hamlet et Fortinbras,” Rudyard Kipling and “The Absentminded Beggar,” the politics of the Boer War in 1904, Shakespeare as propaganda, Khaki Hamlets and the brutality of Shakespeare, the Mitchelstown Massacre, Algernon Swinburne and “On the Death of Colonel Benson,” British use of concentration camps during the Boer War, and further use of British literary icons as propaganda.

Support us on Patreon to access episodes early, bonus content, and a video version of our podcast.

Blooms & Barnacles Social Media:

Subscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:

Decoding Dedalus: Horseness is the whatness of allhorse.

Bloomsday 2025 Live Show!

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Kelly Bryan) — Fri, 13 Jun 2025 12:50:42 +0000

We hope to see you at our live show in Dublin on Bloomsday. You can join us in person or on the livestream.

Tickets at the link below:

https://www.bloomsdayfestival.ie/event/blooms-barnacles-podcast-could-an-ai-write-ulysses/

Horseness is the Whatness of Allhorse

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Blooms & Barnacles) — Wed, 4 Jun 2025 04:00:00 +0000

Are you Team Aristotle or Team Plato?

Topics in this episode include Charybdis, schoolboys and schoolmen, whether or not Plato was shallow, artists being rejected by Plato’s Republic, platonism v. neoplatonism, Aristotle’s view of art, Stephen’s dagger definitions, the Plato and Antisthenes’ thoughts on horses, horse v. horseness, Plato’s Forms, the ineluctable modality of the visible, Joyce’s thoughts on William Blake, and how to solve an impossible binary.

Support us on Patreon to access episodes early, bonus content, and a video version of our podcast.

On the Blog:

Blooms & Barnacles Social Media:

Subscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:

Decoding Dedalus: Horseness is the whatness of allhorse.

Bonus #29 - The Dark Gaunt House on Usher’s Island [TEASER]

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Blooms & Barnacles) — Mon, 2 Jun 2025 12:34:32 +0000

We discuss the history of the house at 15 Usher's Island where "The Dead" was set.

Listen to the full episode at patreon.com/barnaclecast

On this side idolatry.

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Blooms & Barnacles) — Wed, 21 May 2025 04:00:00 +0000

You naughtn’t to look, missus, so you naughtn’t when a lady’s ashowing of her elemental.

Topics in this episode include Old Ben’s critique of Shakespeare, bardolatry, Shakespeare as a symbol of English supremacy, how Plato is like Charybdis, formless spiritual essences, seeing ourselves as others see us, the paintings of Gustave Moreau, and so much theosophy.

On the Blog:

Blooms & Barnacles Social Media:

Subscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:

Decoding Dedalus: Folly. Persist.

Folly. Persist.

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Blooms & Barnacles) — Wed, 7 May 2025 04:00:00 +0000

Satan comes forward a sinkapace.

Topics in this episode include Goethe’s Wilhelm Meister, Goethe’s thoughts on Hamlet translated through Thomas Lyster, Elizabethan dances, Sir Toby Belch, Monsieur de la Palice and a hilarious French pun, John Milton, Paradise Lost, Stephen’s six brave medicals, Marie Corelli’s The Sorrows of Satan, Cranly, Medical Dick and Medical Davy, betrayal, W.B.’s shining seven, the significance of the number seven, Malacoda’s trumpet, Dante, extended Wicklow imagery, Satanic imagery in the works of Joyce, Stephen’s Luciferian impulses, Diablous in Musica, and Stephen’s ultimate rejection of Satan despite his declaration of “Non serviam.”

Support us on Patreon to access episodes early, bonus content, and a video version of our podcast.

On the Blog:

Blooms & Barnacles Social Media:

Subscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:

Who Were the Real Men in the Library from "Scylla and Charybdis"?

Bonus Ep. 28 - Two Stories About Women [TEASER]

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Kelly Bryan) — Wed, 30 Apr 2025 18:32:17 +0000

Kelly and Dermot discuss the stories of Elizabeth Aldworth, the lady mason, and author P.L. Travers

Listen to the full episode at patreon.com/barnaclecast

Who Were the Real Men in the Library from "Scylla and Charybdis"?

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Blooms & Barnacles) — Thu, 24 Apr 2025 05:03:15 +0000

Eglinton knows Best.

Topics in this episode include the real-life versions of John Eglinton and Richard Best, Best’s contribution to the study of Irish mythology, how Best supported James Joyce’s abandoned music career, what his portrayal in Ulysses gets right and wrong, how the real Best felt about his fictional counterpart in Ulysses, gay-coding and homophobia in the fictional portrayal of Best, Oscar Wilde, the ancient Greeks, Joyce’s misguided attempt to re-connect with Best in 1909, William Kirkpatrick Magee (aka John Eglinton) and his contribution to Irish literature, Eglinton as an outsider, stories of Joyce and Gogarty terrorizing Eglinton, a rude limerick, the time Eglinton rejected Joyce’s Portrait, and Eglinton’s reaction to being portrayed in Ulysses.

Support us on Patreon to access episodes early, bonus content, and a video version of our podcast.

On the Blog:

Blooms & Barnacles Social Media:

Subscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:

Scylla and Charybdis

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Blooms & Barnacles) — Wed, 9 Apr 2025 04:00:00 +0000

Here be monsters.

We crack into Ulysses' ninth episode: "Scylla and Charybdis." Topics in this episode include: a great philosopher's thoughts on Shakespeare, Dermot, another great philosopher's, thoughts on Shakespeare, Odysseus' encounter with Scylla and Charybdis, the geography and currents of the Strait of Messina that likely inspired the story of Scylla and Charybdis, the triumphant return of Stephen Dedalus, Aristotle and Plato, George Æ Russell the engulfer of souls, why the brain is man's cruelest weapon, intellectual dialectic contrasted with empty rhetoric, the National Library of Ireland and why it's great, "The Holy Office", well-timed lunch, Stephen Dedalus' three forms of literature, Henrik Ibsen and the primacy of drama in Stephen's literary schema, and how to navigate between two sea monsters.

Support us on Patreon to access episodes early, bonus content, and a video version of our podcast.

Blooms & Barnacles Social Media:

Subscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:

Bonus Ep. 27 - The Picture of Dorian Gray [TEASER]

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Blooms & Barnacles) — Mon, 31 Mar 2025 15:11:39 +0000

We discuss Oscar Wilde's novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray.

To listen to the full episode, visit patreon.com/barnaclecast

Bonus Ep. 26 - The Third Man [TEASER]

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Blooms & Barnacles) — Fri, 28 Feb 2025 18:20:44 +0000

We discuss the 1949 film, The Third Man because James Joyce is briefly mentioned in it. Also, it's a really good movie.

Listen to or watch the full episode at patreon.com/barnaclecast

Blind Stripling

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Blooms & Barnacles) — Wed, 19 Feb 2025 17:00:00 +0000

A wild Blazes Boylan appears.

Topics in this episode include the incredible story of Reverend Thomas Connellan, the Bible Wars, Soupers, the Bird’s Nest orphanage, apostasy and conversion, a typographical error heroically corrected, the blind stripling, whether or not the blind stripling actually wants help from Leopold Bloom, Bloom’s savior complex, Bloom’s empathy, the history of blind piano tuners, whether or not blind people’s other senses are stronger than those of sighted people, whether or not wine loses its flavor based on appearance, parallels between the blind stripling and Stephen Dedalus, how Joyce’s eye trouble influenced the development of the blind stripling, how Joyce used the blind stripling to work out his personal stuggles on the page, the dreams of blind people, the General Slocum disaster, Sir Frederick Falkiner, the Mirus Bazaar, Handel’s Messiah, and escaping Blazes Boylan.

Support us on Patreon to access episodes early, bonus content, and a video version of our podcast.

Blooms & Barnacles Social Media:

Subscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:

Throwaway

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Kelly Bryan) — Wed, 5 Feb 2025 05:00:00 +0000

I need to see a man about a horse.

Topics in this episode include a return to nutarianism, Tom Rochford’s surprisingly heroic back story, the Ascot Gold Cup, racehorses with weird names, Jack B. Yeats’ Olympic career, the life cycle of a pernicious rumor, Tom Rochford’s invention, Don Giovanni’s ending (spoiler alert), peristalsis nearing its inevitable conclusion, Prescott’s Dye Works, gambling culture in Edwardian Dublin, the class consciousness of gambling culture, whether it’s better to win or lose a wager, the alienation of the gambler, Bloom’s immunity to society’s “narcotics”, the symbolism of horses, a fear of horses, the racialisation of orientalism, the performance of masculinity, the masculinity of Blazes Boylan contrasted with the masculinity of Leopold Bloom, and why you should bet on the dark horse.

Support us on Patreon to access episodes early, bonus content, and a video version of our podcast.

Blooms & Barnacles Social Media:

Subscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:

Was Leopold Bloom a Freemason?

Bonus Ep. 25 - The Tarot of Mme Marion Bloom w/ Penelope Wade [TEASER]

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Penelope Wade, Blooms & Barnacles) — Thu, 30 Jan 2025 13:13:46 +0000

Artist Penelope Wade joins the podcast to discuss her project, "The Tarot of Mme Marion Bloom." Wade uses collages of found objects to create densely symbolic images based on the themes and characters in Ulysses. She has arranged her collages into a one-of-a-kind tarot deck. We discuss tarot, Ulysses, Molly Bloom. Kelly even gets a tarot reading!

Listen to or watch the full episode at patreon.com/barnaclecast

You can see Penelope's art at her website.

Ancient Free and Accepted Order

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Blooms & Barnacles) — Wed, 15 Jan 2025 05:00:00 +0000

Are you on the level?

Topics in this episode include discussion of whether or not Leopold Bloom is a freemason, how well Nosey Flynn knows the business of the other Dubliners, why Bloom never thinks about being a freemason, whether or not Tom Kernan is in the craft, whether or not you can leave the freemasons, freemason symbols and lore, whether Bloom has connections to the upper echelons of Dublin society, the Hungarian lottery tickets scandal, what James Joyce knew about freemasons, times when Bloom deploys freemason symbols, the Catholic Church’s campaign against the freemasons, how that campaign was also antisemitic, and why Æ was talking about octopuses.

Support us on Patreon to access episodes early, bonus content, and a video version of our podcast.

On the Blog:

Blooms & Barnacles Social Media:

Subscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:

James Joyce Community Groups (w/ Zoe Patterson)

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Blooms & Barnacles, Zoe Patterson) — Wed, 25 Dec 2024 05:00:00 +0000

Zoe Patterson of Trinity College Dublin joins Blooms & Barnacles to talk about about her research into James Joyce community groups.

Support us on Patreon to access episodes early, bonus content, and a video version of our podcast.

Blooms & Barnacles Social Media:

Subscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:

Bonus Ep. 24 - Jack the Ripper w/ Senan Molony [TEASER]

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Kelly Bryan) — Thu, 12 Dec 2024 15:00:33 +0000

Journalist Senan Molony joins the podcast to talk about how the Jack the Ripper murders influenced Ulysses.

Listen to the full episode at pattern.com/barnaclecast

Seed Cake

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Blooms & Barnacles) — Thu, 12 Dec 2024 05:00:00 +0000

Should you bring oysters to your naughty liaison on Howth?

Topics in this episode include your thoughts on Bloom’s glass of burgundy, whether or not oysters are an aphrodisiac, where you used to be able to find the best oysters in Ireland, whether or not it’s ok to eat oysters in months that don’t have an R, which European monarch ate the scruff off their own head, more wine minutiae - this time what color glass is best for storing beverages, the fishes royal, Miss Dubedat, a kish of brogues, parallax, the rhododendrons on Howth, seed cake, Molly and Leopold as a couple, and whether or not goddesses have buttholes.

Support us on Patreon to access episodes early, bonus content, and a video version of our podcast.

Blooms & Barnacles Social Media:

Subscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:

Is Blazes Boylan really the worst man in Dublin?

Is Blazes Boylan the worst man in Dublin?

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Blooms & Barnacles) — Wed, 4 Dec 2024 05:00:00 +0000

Well, was he?

Topics in this episode include a thorough dissection of Hugh E. “Blazes” Boylan, why Boylan jingles and jaunts, Boylan’s snappy wardrobe, clocks on socks, whether or not Boylan smells rich, Boylan’s business ventures, Boylan’s father the horse trader, the Myler Keogh controversy, the unreliable narrators in Barney Kiernan’s pub, the sex crimes of Blazes Boylan, the sex crimes of Leopold Bloom, Miss Dunne, real life inspirations for Blazes Boylan, and the vanquishing of Molly Bloom’s suitors.

Support us on Patreon to access episodes early, bonus content, and a video version of our podcast.

On the Blog:

Blooms & Barnacles Social Media:

Subscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:

Leopold Bloom’s Gorgonzola

Bonus Ep. 23 - Molly Bloom v. Misogyny w/ Katherine Ebury [TEASER]

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Kelly Bryan) — Fri, 15 Nov 2024 12:22:44 +0000

Dr. Katherine Ebury (she/they) of the University of Sheffield joins the podcast to talk about how to approach older scholarship that contains misogynist interpretations of Molly Bloom. Should we dismiss them entirely, or is it ok to just fish out the good bits? What direction is Joyce studies taking with regards to interpretations of Molly? We also discuss the ongoing issue of sexual harassment in Joyce studies.

Listen to the full episode and see a video version at patreon.com/barnaclecast

Gorgon-Zola

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Blooms & Barnacles) — Wed, 13 Nov 2024 05:00:00 +0000

Fermentation is hot.

Topics in this episode include Davy Byrne’s moral pub, Nosey Flynn, Noah and the curse of Ham, Plumtree’s Potted Meat, cannibalism, missionaries who get eaten by cannibals, long pig, Reverend MacTrigger, lapses in Leopold Bloom’s empathy, the Jesuits’ mission of conversion, colonialism, Yom Kippur, food as an expression of religion, mity cheese, why Bloom chooses cheese, sunyata, why it’s extremely anachronistic for Bloom to seek cheese, a brief history of indigenous Irish cheese, why no one ate cheese in Dublin in 1904, the 20th century revival of Irish cheese, burgundy, and sexy, sexy fermentation.

Support us on Patreon to access episodes early, bonus content, and a video version of our podcast.

On the Blog:

Blooms & Barnacles Social Media:

Subscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:

Rawhead and Bloody Bones in the Burton

Rawhead and Bloody Bones

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Blooms & Barnacles) — Wed, 30 Oct 2024 05:00:00 +0000

Let’s hope for something galoptious when all’s said and done.

Topics in this episode include the lestrygonian feast in the Burton, masculinity and meat eating, societal paralysis, Bloom’s plan to feed the masses, Bloom’s memories of working in the cattle market, the importance of cattle to the Irish economy, the horror that is dicky meat, the violence of the cattle trade, the carnivore diet, Bloom’s performative masculinity, Bloom’s political moderateness, class horror, Padraic Pearse and the Easter Rising, Æ’s political decline, and the problem of pacifism.

Support us on Patreon to access episodes early, bonus content, and a video version of our podcast.

On the Blog:

Blooms & Barnacles Social Media:

Subscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:

Bloodhued Poplin, Lustrous Blood

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Blooms & Barnacles) — Wed, 16 Oct 2024 04:00:00 +0000

Think unsexy thought. Think unsexy thoughts. Think unsexy thoughts.

Topics included corrections, Yeates and Son, parallax, eclipses, Dunsink Time, Thomas Moore, peristalsis, Bob Doran, Take off that white hat!, Huguenots, the princess of the Lestrygonians, Leopold Bloom’s failed attempt to think unsexy thoughts, Bloom as sideways Odysseus, Bloom failing to destroy Molly’s suitor, and a quick escape.

Support us on Patreon to access episodes early, bonus content, and a video version of our podcast.

Blooms & Barnacles Social Media:

Subscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:

Weggebobbles and Fruit: Vegetarianism in Ulysses

Bonus Episode #22 - James Joyce Community Groups w/ Zoe Patterson [TEASER]

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Zoe Patterson, Blooms & Barnacles) — Sun, 13 Oct 2024 18:34:09 +0000

Zoe Patterson of Trinity College Dublin joins Blooms & Barnacles to talk about about her research into James Joyce community groups.

To listen to the full episode, check out patreon.com/barnaclecast

Ep. 142 - Weggebobbles, Fruit, and Scotch Octopuses

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Blooms & Barnacles) — Wed, 2 Oct 2024 04:00:00 +0000

"If you do the eyes of that cow will pursue you through all eternity."

Topics in this episode include two-headed octopuses, the Freemasons, the real Lizzie Twigg, Dublin's oldest vegetarian restaurants, Æ, vegetarianism in the early twentieth century, Pythagorus, nutarians and fruitarians, Leopold Bloom's brief foray into vegetarianism, nutsteak, mashed yeast, the elitism of vegetarians, James Joyce's vendetta against vegetarians, whether or not a vegetarian diet inspires poetry, the transformative power of food, taking the soup, and metempsychosis.

Support us on Patreon to access episodes early, bonus content, and a video version of our podcast.

On the Blog:

Blooms & Barnacles Social Media:

Subscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:

Decoding Bloom: John Howard Parnell

Dubliners #8 - Grace [TEASER]

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Kelly Bryan) — Fri, 27 Sep 2024 13:56:07 +0000

We discuss the Dubliners short story, "Grace", in the final episode of our Dubliners series.

Listen to the full episode at patreon.com/barnaclecast

The Fascination of a Name

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Blooms & Barnacles) — Wed, 18 Sep 2024 04:00:00 +0000

“Simon Dedalus said when they put him in parliament that Parnell would come back from the grave and lead him out of the house of commons by the arm.”

Topics in this episode include James Stephens and his organizational blunder, Michaelmas traditions, architecture and peristalsis, the legacy of Dr George Salmon and his big spooky house, reevaluating historical figures like Dr Salmon, John Howard Parnell and his many siblings, the difficulty of being a “brother’s brother,” the Irish connection to peach cultivation in the American South, Charles Stewart Parnell becomes a problematic fave, obtaining a cushy sinecure as Dublin city marshal, Charley Boulger, the Dublin Bread Company, John Howard Parnell’s anemic political career, Fanny Parnell, Emily Dickinson, Anna Parnell, historical misogyny, the Kennedys, David Sheehy M.P., the time Dermot met Conor Cruise O’Brien, the Chiltern hundreds, ghost Parnell, and eating oranges in the Phoenix Park to own the Orangemen.

Support us on Patreon to access episodes early, bonus content, and a video version of our podcast.

On the Blog:

Blooms & Barnacles Social Media:

Subscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:

Decoding Dedalus: Hamlet, ou le Absentminded Beggar

Up the Boers!

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Blooms & Barnacles) — Fri, 6 Sep 2024 04:00:00 +0000

Was Leopold Bloom ever totally radical?

Topics in this episode include Bloom’s memory of a protest, Bloom’s view of the police, the significance of soup imagery, the origins of the Boer War, Irish Nationalist opposition to the Boer War, Joseph Chamberlain, Christiaan de Wet, the irony of Irish Nationalist support for the Boer cause, a French depiction of the protests in Dublin, the class politics of political protest, Sean O’Casey’s daring showdown with a mounter police officer, profiting from the colonization of Africa, poetry as propaganda, a Parnell conspiracy theory, Bloom’s failed attempts to seem more patriotic than he is, the wrong Gough in the park, Bloom’s own profiteering, and the fate of Percy Apjohn.

Support us on Patreon to access episodes early, bonus content, and a video version of our podcast.

On the Blog:

Up the Boers!

Blooms & Barnacles Social Media:

Subscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:

Dubliners #7 - Ivy Day in the Committee Room [TEASER]

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Kelly Bryan) — Wed, 28 Aug 2024 19:36:56 +0000

We discuss the Dubliners story, “Ivy Day in the Committee Room"

To listen to the full episode, please visit patreon.com/barnaclecast

Ep. 139 - The Meeting of the Waters

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Blooms & Barnacles) — Wed, 21 Aug 2024 04:00:00 +0000

The constables have been let out to graze.

Topics in this episode include: 1904 popular culture, James Carlyle and the Irish Times, foxhunting, horsey people, Leopold Bloom’s disdain for high class women, The Irish Field, a personal ad from the 1870’s, Mrs Miriam Dandrade, the Purefoys, Fletcherism, the Chew-Chew Method, fad diets of yore, munching parties, hardy annuals, whether or not consumption makes you randy, phthisis, searching for Mrs Moisel, Mrs Thornton, Bloom mocks the police, The Pirates of Penzance, Thomas Moore, Avoca, and “The Meeting of the Waters.”

Support us on Patreon to access episodes early, bonus content, and a video version of our podcast.

Blooms & Barnacles Social Media:

Subscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:

The Women of Ulysses: Lizzie Twigg

Lizzie Twigg (w/ Elizabeth Foley O'Connor)

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Blooms & Barnacles, Elizabeth Foley O'Connor) — Wed, 7 Aug 2024 04:00:00 +0000

“Everybody who met her liked her - because she was warm and outgoing. Here I am saying good things about Lizzie. Poor Liz - nobody remembers her now.” - Padraic Colum, 1969

This episode features an interview with scholar Elizabeth Foley O’Connor about Irish poet Lizzie Twigg, her legacy as a poet, her brief mention in Ulysses, how she fell under James Joyce’s critical eye, and why she deserved better. We also discuss tarot artist Pamela Colman Smith, the subject of Foley O’Connor’s book Pamela Colman Smith: Artist, Feminist & Mystic.

Support us on Patreon to access episodes early, bonus content, and a video version of our podcast.

On the Blog:

Blooms & Barnacles Social Media:

Subscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:

Who was the real Cashel Boyle O'Connor Fitzmaurice Tisdall Farrell?

Cashel Boyle O’Connor Fitzmaurice Tisdall Farrell

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Blooms & Barnacles) — Wed, 24 Jul 2024 10:55:36 +0000

“Dubliners were proud of Endymion. They were proud that they tolerated Endymion, but also that he tolerated them. Most people watched him and remembered him with affection, and only a few were aware of the darker side to some of his mutterings.” - John Simpson

Support us on Patreon to access episodes early, bonus content, and a video version of our podcast.

On the Blog:

Blooms & Barnacles Social Media:

Subscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:

Dubliners #6 - A Painful Case & A Mother [TEASER]

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Kelly Bryan) — Mon, 22 Jul 2024 11:25:01 +0000

We discuss Dubliners stories “A Painful Case” and “A Mother”

Listen to the full episode at patreon.com/barnaclecast

U.p: up

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Blooms & Barnacles) — Wed, 10 Jul 2024 04:00:00 +0000

Inside the madness of Breen

Topics in this episode include deep Ulysses lore, nostalgia traps, Molly’s suitors, the Glencree dinner, Old Professor Goodwin, Mr. and Mrs. Breen, U.p: up, the Ace of Spades, Breen’s postcard as an empty threat, an old forgotten expression, word play, hidden meanings, codes, peeing up and cloacal obsessions, Larry David, body shaming and erectile dysfunction, the Nolan and the wildest theory about U.p: up, accusations of apostasy, a controversy of Presbyterians, Michael Cusack and U.p: up, who sent the U.p: up postcard, Ulysses Pseudangelos and the lure of false messengers, Sailor Murphy, to roc and the black spot in “Ithaca.”

Support us on Patreon to access episodes early, bonus content, and a video version of our podcast.

On the Blog:

U.P: Up

Blooms & Barnacles Social Media:

Subscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:

Kino's & Hely's: Two Ads in Lestrygonians

HEL'SY

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Blooms & Barnacles) — Wed, 5 Jun 2024 04:00:00 +0000

Rashers Tierney would have gotten those Hely’s Sandwichmen into shape. Plus, his name is thematically apt.

Topics in this episode include memories of life in 1960’s Dublin, Leopold Bloom’s philosophy of advertising, whether or not a nun invented barbed wire, the intersection of religion, advertising and potted meat, the rite of Melchisedek, open-faced club sand wedge, the Hely’s sandwichmen, Wisdom Hely, Bloom’s employment history, Bloom’s grief, whether or not Wisdom Hely is good at advertising, whether Bloom’s ideas actually have any merit, Victorian advertising, cannibals, Szombathely and all the secret codes hidden therein.

Support us on Patreon to access episodes early, bonus content, and a video version of our podcast.

On the Blog:

Blooms & Barnacles Social Media:

Subscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:

Dubliners #5 - Counterparts & Clay [TEASER]

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Kelly Bryan) — Mon, 3 Jun 2024 10:53:16 +0000

We discuss Dubliners stories “Counterparts” and “Clay”

Listen to the full episode at patreon.com/barnaclecast

Strumpet City [Patreon Bonus]

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Kelly Bryan) — Wed, 22 May 2024 04:00:00 +0000

We discuss James Plunkett’s 1969 novel, Strumpet City and the 1980 mini-series of the same name.

Parallax

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Blooms & Barnacles) — Thu, 9 May 2024 04:00:00 +0000

If both clocks were correct, one would be redundant.

Topics in this episode include the Ballast Office, the timeball, stellar parallax, ships’ navigators and chronometers, the whereabouts of the timeball, the political controversy of Greenwich Mean Time, Dunsink time, Sir Robert Ball and The Story of the Heavens, what the heck parallax actually means, how James Joyce uses the term parallax in Ulysses, being your own solar eclipse, how to make friends and influence astronomers at the Dunsink Observatory, Robert Anton Wilson, Clyde Tombaugh, the epiphanies to be found in common street furniture, Bishop Berkeley’s thoughts on stereoscopic vision, Dedalus and Bloom as a binary star system, the hypostasis of urination, and crossing the streams.

Support us on Patreon to access episodes early, bonus content, and a video version of our podcast.

On the Blog:

Parallax

Blooms & Barnacles Social Media:

Subscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:

Kino's & Hely's: Two Ads in Lestrygonians

Dubliners #4 - The Boarding House & A Little Cloud [TEASER]

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Kelly Bryan) — Sun, 28 Apr 2024 13:09:43 +0000

We share our thoughts on Dubliners short stories "The Boarding House" and "A Little Cloud"

Listen to the full episode at patreon.com/barnaclecast

Kino's 11/- Trousers

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Blooms & Barnacles) — Wed, 24 Apr 2024 04:00:00 +0000

What is the parallax of Aldebaran?

Topics in this episode include gulls, Simon Dedalus, Little Chandler, Leopold Bloom’s poetic impulse, Leopold Bloom’s philosophy of advertising, the secret ingredient in Epps’ Cocoa, the supremacy of Kino’s 11/- Trousers over Plumtree’s Potted Meat, Victorian advertising styles, Howard Bridgewater’s theory of advertising, Dr. Hy Frank’s remedy for the clap, numerology, Chris Callinan, the true meaning of K. 11, the parallax of Aldebaran, Lenehan being just the worst, the number 11 and George Mesias’ suits.

Support us on Patreon to access episodes early, bonus content, and a video version of our podcast.

On the Blog:

Blooms & Barnacles Social Media:

Subscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:

Elijah is coming! Is Coming!! IS COMING!!!

Elijah is Coming!

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Blooms & Barnacles) — Wed, 10 Apr 2024 04:00:00 +0000

Sunday! Sunday! Sunday! Elijah is Coming!!!

Topics in this episode include epiphanies in Dubliners, the transformative power of peristalsis, Leopold Bloom and the Prophet Elijah, the peculiar tale of John Alexander Dowie, God’s bloodlust, the also peculiar history of the Salvation Army, what religion and advertising have in common, phosphorescence, polygamy, monster trucks, Bloom as a redeemer for Ireland, and the surprising origin of the city of Zion, Illinois.

Support us on Patreon to access episodes early, bonus content, and a video version of our podcast.

On the Blog:

Blooms & Barnacles Social Media:

Subscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:

Ulysses & The Odyssey - The Lestrygonians — Blooms & Barnacles

The Lestrygonians

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Blooms & Barnacles) — Wed, 27 Mar 2024 05:00:00 +0000

Who’s for dinner?

Topics in this episode include revisiting Ulysses-themed tarot, Odysseus’ encounter with the Lestrygonians, being in Leopold Bloom’s head once more, the Homeric parallels found in Ulysses’ eighth episode, the dangers of being too hangry, translating The Odyssey into French, anthropomorphic geography, trophomorphism, the intersection of food and sexuality, bloody imagery, and why James Joyce connected fermentation to women.

Support us on Patreon to access episodes early, bonus content, and a video version of our podcast.

On the Blog:

Blooms & Barnacles Social Media:

Subscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:

Dubliner #3 - “After the Race” & “Two Gallants” [TEASER]

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Kelly Bryan) — Sat, 23 Mar 2024 20:01:30 +0000

Listen to the full episode now at patreon.com/barnaclecast

THOSE SLIGHTLY RAMBUNCTIOUS FEMALES

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Kelly Bryan) — Wed, 13 Mar 2024 05:00:00 +0000

Nelson supposes his toeses are roses, but Nelson supposes erroneously.

Topics in this episode include Barcelona, revisiting James Joyce’s Guinness ad, the history of Nelson’s pillar, Horatio Nelson, the final resting place of Nelson’s head, possible replacements for Nelson atop the former pillar, failed attempts to raise the wind, A Pisgah Sight of Palestine or The Parable of the Plums, Mt. Pisgah, the 17th century origin of the title of Stephen’s parable, the Eucharist, the parable of the wise and foolish virgins, Fumbally’s Lane and the Liberties, bitterness and deflation, bathos, Antisthenes and cynicism, Penelope’s beauty in comparison to Helen’s, paralysis, Moses, sean bhean bhocht, Parnell’s monument, plumtrees, plumstones, plums in general, Nelson as a poor reciprocator of oral sex, Stephen’s misogyny, hypostasis, and PEN IS CHAMP.

Blooms & Barnacles Social Media:

Subscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:

The Language of the Outlaw: John F. Taylor's Speech in "Aeolus"

Dubliners #2 - Araby & Eveline [TEASER]

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Kelly Bryan) — Wed, 21 Feb 2024 21:27:49 +0000

We share our thoughts on Dubliners short stories "Araby" and "Eveline"

Listen to the full episode at patreon.com/barnaclecast

DEAR DIRTY DUBLIN

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Kelly Bryan) — Wed, 14 Feb 2024 05:00:00 +0000

What if we held hands in the Akasic Record?

Topics in this episode include too much information about the Freemasons, entering the Promised Land, Daniel O'Connell's mass meeting at Mullaghmast, political radicalism, the Akasic Record, Stephen's magic powers, rebutting John F. Taylor, Parnell's parliamentary finesse, argumentum ad pasiones, leaning into your own bias, the origin of the phrase "Dear Dirty Dublin," duplicitous newsies, disappointment for J.J. O'Molloy, Odysseus rebuffed by Aeolus, and Stephen girds his loins for creative outburst.

On the Blog:

Blooms & Barnacles Social Media:

Subscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:

The Language of the Outlaw: John F. Taylor's Speech in "Aeolus"

FROM THE FATHERS

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Kelly Bryan) — Thu, 1 Feb 2024 05:00:00 +0000

Featuring a surprise historical cameo!

Topics in this episode include our final example of Aristotelian rhetoric, the only passage of Ulysses recorded by James Joyce, the battle of wits between Mr. Justice Fitzgibbon and John F. Taylor, misperceptions about Taylor’s oratory, the Gaelic Revival, Dreamy Jimmy, ferial tone, a Moses for Ireland, MacHugh can’t catch a break, the analogy of the Irish and the biblical Israelites, The Shade of Parnell, Irish Orientalism, antisemitism in the Irish Nationalist movement of the early 20th century, The Language of the Outlaw and Roger Casement, Joyce’s punch-up of Taylor’s speech, and reading Ulysses backwards.

Support us on Patreon to access episodes early, bonus content, and a video version of our podcast.

On the Blog:

Blooms & Barnacles Social Media:

Subscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:

Decoding Dedalus: The Opal Hush Poets — Blooms & Barnacles

Dubliners #1 - The Sisters & An Encounter [TEASER]

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Kelly Bryan) — Sun, 28 Jan 2024 21:07:14 +0000

We share our thoughts on the Dubliners short stories "The Sisters" and "An Encounter"

Hear and watch the full episode at patreon.com/barnaclecast

A MAN OF HIGH MORALE

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Kelly Bryan) — Wed, 17 Jan 2024 05:00:00 +0000

“Speaking about me. What did he say? What did he say? What did he say about me? Don’t ask.”

Topics in this episode include a rumor about Stephen, Professor Magennis, Æ the mastermystic, drama within Dublin’s occult circles, how Æ helped James Joyce get published, the opal hush poets, Joycean tarot cards, D.P. Moran and The Leader, the horror of a truly clever nickname, mocking bad poetry, the Opal Hush cocktail, Pamela Colman Smith, Helena Blavatsky’s old bag of tricks, theosophy, an American professor’s visit to Dublin, Joyce’s debut in the Dublin literary scene, microcosm and macrocosm, Mr Justice Fitzgibbon, more Tim Healy and Joyce’s ability to hold a lifelong grudge.

Support us on Patreon to access episodes early, bonus content, and a video version of our podcast.

On the Blog:

Blooms & Barnacles Social Media:

Subscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:

Ep. 126 - ITALIA, MAGISTRA ARTIUM

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Blooms & Barnacles) — Thu, 4 Jan 2024 05:00:00 +0000

Sufficient for the day is the newspaper thereof.

Topics in this episode include Grattan and Flood, Seymour Bushe and the Childs murder case, Hamlet references, Michelangelo’s Moses and where to find it, Lenehan’s cigarette scheme, J.J. O’Molloy’s love of forensic rhetoric, the shortcomings of memoria, court cases appearing in the works of Joyce, Samuel Childs and Thomas Childs, James Joyce’s youthful interest in the law, a surprise appearance by Alexander Keyes, a Joyce family connection to the Childs murder, James Joyce’s lifelong grudge against Tim Healy, Charles Stewart Parnell, lex talionis, the law of evidence, and just how eloquent Seymour Bushe really was.

Support us on Patreon to access episodes early, bonus content, and a video version of our podcast.

On the Blog:

A POLISHED PERIOD

Blooms & Barnacles Social Media:

Subscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:

Bonus Ep. 12 - At Swim-Two-Birds (w/ Paul Fagan) [TEASER]

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Paul Fagan, Kelly Bryan) — Tue, 26 Dec 2023 12:00:00 +0000

We welcome Paul Fagan (founder of the International Flann O'Brien Society) to Blooms & Barnacles to discuss a work heavily influenced by James Joyce - Flann O'Brien's 1939 novel, At Swim-Two-Birds.

To hear the full episode, subscribe at patreon.com/barnaclecast

Why aren’t there any black characters in Ulysses? (w/ Ryan Kerr)

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Ryan Kerr, Blooms & Barnacles) — Wed, 20 Dec 2023 05:00:00 +0000

Ryan Kerr joins the Blooms & Barnacles podcast to discuss the racial politics of Ulysses. Topics include the minstrel show performer Eugene Stratton, the absence of black characters in Ulysses, and the depiction of anti-black racism within the novel.

Support us on Patreon to access episodes early, bonus content, and a video version of our podcast.

Check out Ryan's article here:

Kerr, R. (2022). James Joyce, Eugene Stratton, and Spectrality: The Absent Presence of Racial Politics in Ulysses. James Joyce Quarterly, 59(2), 231. https://www.academia.edu/92573371/James_Joyce_Eugene_Stratton_and_Spectrality_The_Absent_Presence_of_Racial_Politics_in_Ulysses

Blooms & Barnacles Social Media:

Subscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:

Decoding Dedalus: RHYMES AND REASONS

RHYMES AND REASONS

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Blooms & Barnacles) — Wed, 6 Dec 2023 05:00:00 +0000

Clamn dever.

Topics in this episode include Dublin journalism minutiae, pallindromes, Lenehan’s spoonerisms, the sad history behind the real-life inspiration for Professor MacHugh, the return of Stephen Dedalus’ extremely erudite daydreams, Stephen punches up Douglas Hyde’s poem, poetic meter and foot, rhyme and rhythm, the nightmare of history, Joyce’s love of Dante, Dante’s Divine Comedy, Francesca and Paolo’s eternal damnation, a secret wind motif, Kelly and Dermot attempt to speak Italian, interlinguistic puns, and the oriflamme.

Support us on Patreon to access episodes early, bonus content, and a video version of our podcast.

On the Blog:

Blooms & Barnacles Social Media:

Subscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:

The Invincible Ignatius Gallaher

THE GREAT GALLAHER

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Blooms & Barnacles) — Wed, 22 Nov 2023 05:00:00 +0000

What opera is like a railway line?

Topics in this episode include MacHugh's love of Greek, kyrie eleison, Lenehan's riddle and limerick, the legendary Ignatius Gallaher, the real-life Gallaher, the Phoenix Park murders and the Invincibles, what Crawford gets wrong about the Invincibles, Gumley and Skin-the-Goat, Gallaher's great scoop in the New York World, the Bransome's coffee map, the nightmare of history, and James Joyce's views on political violence.

Support us on Patreon to access episodes early, bonus content, and a video version of our podcast.

On the Blog:

Blooms & Barnacles Social Media:

Subscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:

Leopold Bloom in the House of Habsburg

A Hungarian it was one day...

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Blooms & Barnacles) — Wed, 8 Nov 2023 05:00:00 +0000

What do Stephen and Bloom have in common with Austria-Hungary?

Topics in this episode include Stephen delivering Mr. Deasy’s letter, Stephen’s vampire poem, Crawford dunks on Mr. Deasy, a cure for foot and mouth disease, the assassination attempt against Emperor Franz Josef, Maximilian Karl O’Donnell, graf von Tirconnell’s heroic defense of the Emperor, the Flight of the Earls and the Wild Geese, the Habsburgs, Ireland’s historic affinity for Hungary, Arthur Griffith’s Hungary Policy, hypostasis, Leopold Bloom’s connection to the Habsburgs, whether or not Bloom first had the idea for Sinn Fein, the barflies in Barney Kiernan’s thoughts on Hungary, Joyce’s own thoughts on Griffith’s Hungary Policy, and the inherent problems of nationalism.

Support us on Patreon to access episodes early, bonus content, and a video version of our podcast.

On the Blog:

Blooms & Barnacles Social Media:

Subscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:

Tales From the Tower Live (w/ Vivien Veale Igoe, Robert Nicholson, & Breandan O'Broin)

Wed, 25 Oct 2023 04:00:00 +0000

Kelly talks with former James Joyce Tower & Museum curators Vivien Veale Igoe and Robert Nicholson, and editor Breandan O'Broin about their experience curating the tower, how Dublin's relationship with Joyce has changed over the years, and their new book, Tales from the Tower.

Tales from the Tower will be available to purchase November 1, 2023

You can find a video version of this episode at our YouTube channel and our Patreon page

THE GRANDEUR THAT WAS ROME

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Blooms & Barnacles) — Wed, 11 Oct 2023 04:00:00 +0000

How often does James Joyce think about the Roman Empire?

Topics in this episode include Leopold Bloom bullied by children and adults, stealing upon larks, the Oval, The Rose of Castille, Lenehan’s riddle unfulfilled, the Roman Empire as an analogue to the British Empire, puns, cloacae, the origin of the phrase “cloacal obsession,” H.G. Wells’ review of A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, MacHugh’s anti-imperial oratory, Stephen Dedalus’ favorite smells, “The Holy Office,” the British love of the watercloset, colonialist civilizing and British conquest, Sir John Harington and the first flush toilet, Ajax and a jakes, François Rabelais, Edward Said, and Dermot’s impression of H.G. Wells.

Support us on Patreon to access episodes early, bonus content, and a video version of our podcast.

On the Blog:

A Cloacal Obsession

Blooms & Barnacles Social Media:

Subscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:

MEMORABLE BATTLES RECALLED: The Sham Squire and the Boys of Wexford

Why aren't there any black characters in Ulysses? w/ Ryan Kerr [TEASER]

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Ryan Kerr, Blooms & Barnacles) — Tue, 3 Oct 2023 14:46:15 +0000

Listen to the full episode at patreon.com/barnaclecast

MEMORABLE BATTLES RECALLED

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Blooms & Barnacles) — Wed, 27 Sep 2023 04:00:00 +0000

“... it would be a shrewd dialectician indeed who would make much sense out of the editor’s crowings about North Cork militia with Spanish officers in Ohio.” - Robert M. Adams

Topics in this episode include the North Cork Militia, the Battle of Oulart, Ned Lambert’s superior improv skills, Bloom’s professionalism, Myles Crawford as a mirror to Mr. Deasy, what any of this has to do with Ohio, perfect cretics, incipient jigs, the symbol of the harp, why Lenehan is the worst, Lenehan’s outing in “Two Gallants”, Lenehan in Ulysses, Michael Hart, “The Boys of Wexford”, the Wolfe Tones, how and why songs change over time, and a curious end to a curious artefact.

Support us on Patreon to access episodes early, bonus content, and a video version of our podcast.

On the Blog:

Who Were the Real Men in Aeolus' Newsroom?

Blooms & Barnacles Social Media:

Subscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:

MEMORABLE BATTLES RECALLED: The Sham Squire and the Boys of Wexford

[TEASER]Lizzie Twigg (w/ Elizabeth Foley O'Connor)

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Elizabeth Foley O'Connor, Kelly Bryan) — Fri, 15 Sep 2023 19:05:28 +0000

A discussion with scholar Elizabeth Foley O'Connor about a minor but fascinating minor Ulysses character, Lizzie Twigg, and what her satirical depiction in "Lestrygonians" tells us about early 20th century politics and literature in Dublin, and whether or not she deserved Joyce's ire (she didn't). Also, a brief discussion of the art and legacy of Pamela Colman Smith.

Listen to the full episode at patreon.com/barnaclecast

The Sham Squire

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Blooms & Barnacles) — Wed, 13 Sep 2023 04:00:00 +0000

—And here comes the sham squire himself! professor MacHugh said grandly.

Topics in this episode include the last vestiges of Doughy Daw’s effulgence, the mysterious identity of Wetherup, Myles Crawford, the real men behind Myles Crawford, red the correpsondent color of “Aeolus”, the Egyptian god Thoth, Crawford’s birdlike qualities, the birds of augury, banter, Francis Higgins the sham squire, the great scammers of history, the origin of the “sham squire” epithet, how Higgins took over the Freemen’s Journal, the 1798 Rebellion in Ireland, Theobald Wolfe Tone, and the betrayal of Lord Edward Fitzgerald.

Support us on Patreon to access episodes early, bonus content, and a video version of our podcast.

On the Blog:

Blooms & Barnacles Social Media:

Subscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:

A Reign of Uncouth Stars (Live w/ Conner Habib)

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Conner Habib, Blooms & Barnacles) — Wed, 30 Aug 2023 04:00:00 +0000

This is a recording of our live show from the 2023 Bloomsday Festival at the James Joyce Centre in Dublin. We discuss the occult influences on Ulysses with special guest Conner Habib.

Support us on Patreon to access episodes early, bonus content, and a video version of our podcast.

Conner Habib:

https://connerhabib.com/

Blooms & Barnacles Social Media:

Subscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:

Rhetoric and the Enthymeme in Aeolus

September Live Show Announcement

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Blooms & Barnacles) — Wed, 23 Aug 2023 13:46:12 +0000

We are thrilled to announce our upcoming live show as part of the Joycenights Festival at the Joyce Tower and Museum. We will be welcoming special guests Vivien Igoe and Robert Nicholson to talk about their upcoming book, "Tales from the Tower."

You can get your tickets here: https://joycetower.ie/events/blooms-barnacles-tales-from-the-tower-live-podcast/

ERIN, GREEN GEM OF THE SILVER SEA

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Blooms & Barnacles) — Wed, 16 Aug 2023 04:00:00 +0000

Inspired by your beauty…effulgent.

Topics in this episode include lemon soap, Ned Lambert, Wilson Ruttledge, Hedges Eyre Chatterton, waiting for your rich uncle to die, Dan Dawson and “Our Lovely Land,” Aristotle’s Rhetoric, epideictic speeches, encomia for Helen, what Dan Dawson’s speech has in common with classical rhetorical treatises, making fun of subpar art, masturbatory art, Dan Dawson’s true identity, biscuitfully, misidentifying the Sacred Heart, weathercocks, getting to know J.J. O’Molloy, the real people behind J.J. O’Molloy, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Support us on Patreon to access episodes early, bonus content, and a video version of our podcast.

On the Blog:

Who Were the Real Men in Aeolus' Newsroom?

Blooms & Barnacles Social Media:

Subscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:

AND IT WAS THE FEAST OF THE PASSOVER

[Teaser] Drawing This Thing w/ Robert Berry

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Robert Berry, Blooms & Barnacles) — Wed, 9 Aug 2023 18:52:21 +0000

Dermot chats with Ulysses Seen artist Robert Berry about the joys of drawing Ulysses.

To listen to the full episode and see a video version (very much recommended for this episode!), visit patreon.com/barnaclecast

AND IT WAS THE FEAST OF THE PASSOVER

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Blooms & Barnacles, Dermot O'Connor, Kelly Bryan) — Wed, 2 Aug 2023 04:00:00 +0000

Why is this Bloomsday different from all other Bloomsdays?

Topics in this episode include orthography, Dermot’s recollections of working in graphic design, the saving grace of calligraphy, spellingbee conundrums, dayfathers, nightfathers, Old Monks, unions, an obituary surprise, Passover and how it shows up in Ulysses, Rudolph Bloom’s Haggadah, how Charlton Heston traumatized us as children, seders, the oddity of a Catholic seder, embroideration, Bloom’s youthful atheism, the wisdom to be found in Bloom’s malapropisms, Bloom’s shocking lack of knowledge about Judaism, Chad Gadya, what Joyce knew about Passover, hypostasis, how Stephen Dedalus accidentally celebrates Passover, Ulysses as “an epic of two races,” and how Ulysses functions as an Irish Haggadah.

Support us on Patreon to access episodes early, bonus content, and a video version of our podcast.

On the Blog:

HOUSE OF KEY(E)S

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Blooms & Barnacles) — Wed, 19 Jul 2023 04:00:00 +0000

We finally unlock the secrets of Ulysses!

Topics in this episode include Joseph Nannetti Sr. and Jr., the debts of Joe Hynes, Bloom’s passivity, the real Alexander Keyes, his struggle to advertise in print in Dublin, advertising in late Victorian Ireland, an innuendo of Home Rule and the Manx Parliament, heraldic imagery in Bloom’s ad, how our Dubliner friends have been double crossed by economics, the paralyzing economics of colonialism, the Vatican, St. Peter and the keys of heaven, the Urim and Thummim, various spirit merchants, Vico’s cyclical view of history, the keyholders in Ulysses and their keyless counterparts, and a chance crossing of paths by James Joyce and Alexander Keyes.

Support us on Patreon to access episodes early, bonus content, and a video version of our podcast.

On the Blog:

The House of Keyes

Blooms & Barnacles Social Media:

Subscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:

Ulysses (1967) [TEASER]

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Kelly Bryan) — Mon, 17 Jul 2023 14:37:34 +0000

Kelly and Dermot discuss Joseph Strick's 1967 film adaptation of Ulysses.

To hear the rest of the show, support us on Patreon:

patreon.com/barnaclecast

IN THE HEART OF THE HIBERNIAN METROPOLIS

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Blooms & Barnacles) — Wed, 5 Jul 2023 04:00:00 +0000

All aboard for the heart of the Hibernian metropolis!

Topics in this episode include HEADLINES, trams, Nelson’s Pillar, The GPO, the mythic kingdom of Aeolia, post boxes, Joyce’s portrayal of his uncle John “Red” Murray, excessive piety, reformed atheists, Ruttledge the ghost, Davy Stephens the king’s courier, the creeping threat of native advertising, William Brayden’s neck, lungs and the rhythm of breathing, Mario the Tenor, Martha, croziers, the rivalries of bishops, and who will save the circulation of the Freeman’s Journal.

Stayed tuned to the end for a short talk between Kelly and Antony Farrell of Lilliput Press. For more information on Lilliput Press or to peruse their Joycean selections, please visit their website here.

Support us on Patreon to access episodes early, bonus content, and a video version of our podcast.

Blooms & Barnacles Social Media:

Subscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:

Rhetoric and the Enthymeme in Aeolus

Exiles (w/ Steve Carey)

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Blooms & Barnacles) — Wed, 7 Jun 2023 04:00:00 +0000

Once maligned, later tentatively praised, James Joyce's only existing play, Exiles, may be his least popular work. Though it is rarely staged these days, Bloomsday in Melbourne's Steve Carey is up to the challenge. We talk why Exiles has been so maligned, why it's actually good, and how to go about staging a play that is famously unpopular.

Come see us in person this Bloomsday! Get tickets to our live show (in person or online) here!

This episode was originally a Patreon bonus episode. For more exclusive content, including a video version of this and other episodes, join our Patreon.

Bloomsday Live Show Announcement!

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Blooms & Barnacles) — Fri, 2 Jun 2023 11:38:29 +0000

We're thrilled to announce our live show at the James Joyce Centre this Bloomsday.

Follow this link for more info and for links to in-person and online tickets.

Ep. 111 - Enthymemic

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Blooms & Barnacles) — Wed, 24 May 2023 04:00:00 +0000

All men are mortal, and Socrates is a man. Therefore, all men are Socrates. Wait...

In this episode, we discuss the art and technic of "Aeolus": rhetoric and "enthymemic." Topics include Stuart Gilbert and his schema, rhetoric as a classical art form, the Jesuits and rhetoric, the extremely comprehensive lists of rhetorical forms found in "Aeolus", how "Aeolus" is structured like a classical rhetorical treatise, just a smidge of Aristotle's Rhetoric, how the rhetorical examples found in "Aeolus" line up with Aristotle's categories of rhetoric, Socrates' ideas about writing v. oratory, what the heck an enthymeme is, a crash course in syllogistic logic, whether or not Portland has kept itself weird, how enthymemes can be used to persuade can be used to persuade (or manipulate), why no one can agree what an enthymeme actually is, and where to find enthymemes in "Aeolus" and Ulysses at large.

On the Blog:

Blooms & Barnacles Social Media:

Subscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:

Ulysses & The Odyssey: Aeolus

Aeolus

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Blooms & Barnacles) — Wed, 10 May 2023 04:00:00 +0000

The answer, my friend, is blowing in the wind…

We kick off our series on Ulysses’ seventh episode, “Aeolus”! Topics in this episode include Book X of The Odyssey, Homeric parallels found in “Aeolus”, the headlines, the Evening Telegraph as it appears in Ulysses, Stromboli, brazen walls and floating isles, wind and air imagery, the history of the Freeman’s Journal, the Sham Squire, Sir John Gray, the downfall of the Freeman’s Journal, bathos, the degradation of language, and the oppression of mad, invisible god.

Support us on Patreon to access episodes early, bonus content, and a video version of our podcast.

On the Blog:

Blooms & Barnacles Social Media:

Subscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:

The Tower of Silence

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Blooms & Barnacles) — Wed, 26 Apr 2023 04:00:00 +0000

Break out the Tantalus glasses - we’re finally getting out of the Underworld!

Topics in our final episode covering “Hades” include paying the ferryman, turning a suit, rats, Robert Emmet, the speech from the dock, toxic nostalgia, cremation, the Catholic Church’s position on cremation, quicklime, Zoroastrianism, the Parsi Tower of Silence, the unexpected consequences of a reduced vulture population, the gentleness of seadeath, leaving the Underworld, Mrs. Sinico and “A Painful Case”, Leopold Bloom’s affirmation of life, John Henry Menton, whether JHM ever had a shot with Molly, Mat Dillon’s parties, Tantalus, Tantalus glasses, Ajax revisited, and our closing thoughts on “Hades”.

Support us on Patreon to access episodes early, bonus content, and a video version of our podcast.

Blooms & Barnacles Social Media:

Subscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:

The Chief's Grave (w/ Jordan LeVeque)

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Blooms & Barnacles) — Wed, 12 Apr 2023 04:00:00 +0000

Sometimes, Bloom is right to be wrong.

Topics in this episode include Charles Stewart Parnell’s funeral and grave, Parnell as Agamemnon, Parnell as a Christ figure, graveyard iconography, Old Ireland’s Hearts and Hands, All Souls’ Day, euphemisms for death, Thomas Gray’s “Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard,” a stuffed owl, Milly’s funeral for a bird, white stones on Irish graves, Ireland’s devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the paintings of Zeuxis, grandfather’s graveyard gramophones, and who died while Bloom worked for Wisdom Hely.

Plus, we speak to Jordan LeVeque of the Portland band Slender Gems about how the works of Joyce have influenced his music.

Support us on Patreon to access episodes early, bonus content, and a video version of our podcast.

Slender Gems’ Music:

Band Camp | Spotify

Blooms & Barnacles Social Media:

Subscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:

Far away a donkey brayed.

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Blooms & Barnacles) — Wed, 29 Mar 2023 04:00:00 +0000

What’s up with that donkey in Glasnevin?

Topics in this episode include seagulls in Ulysses, the Blooms’ old digs in Lombard St. West, The Joyce Project, Mesias the tailor, donkey lore, superstitions of death, a strange work of art, Lucia di Lammermoor, Ivy Day, the location of Bloom’s future grave, Altman the Saltman, Finglas, Joe Hynes, the crimes of Charley M’Coy, Bonnie Prince Charlie, more M’Intosh, kabbalah, numerology, hypostasis and umbilical cords.

Support us on Patreon to access episodes early, bonus content, and a video version of our podcast.

Social Media:

Subscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:

Who is the Man in the Macintosh?

M'Intosh

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Blooms & Barnacles) — Wed, 15 Mar 2023 05:00:00 +0000

Who is the man in the macintosh?

Topics in this episode include trying to figure out the identity of Ulysses’ most enigmatic figure, Penrose, HCE, Peter Falk, the details we can decipher from M’Intosh’s brief appearances in Ulysses, the infallibility of Bovril, Dusty Rhodes, why searching for Easter eggs can be unsatisfying, Theoclymenos, James Clarence Mangan, Wetherup, James Duffy, artist cameos, ghosts, the nadir of misery, and Carl Jung.

Support us on Patreon to access episodes early, bonus content, and a video version of our podcast.

On the Blog:

Social Media:

Subscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:

The Ides of June

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Kelly Bryan) — Wed, 1 Mar 2023 05:00:00 +0000

Beware the Ides of June.

Topics in this episode include the power of keys, John O’Connell the St. Peter of Dublin, “Silver Threads Among the Gold”, Daniel O’Connell the Hercule of Dublin, Daniel O’Connell’s cheatin’ heart, the Persephone of Dublin, Christian burial practices, blood libel, vampire imagery and antisemitism, Leopold Bloom’s version for everlasting life after death, Charles Haddon Spurgeon, a hilarious Latin joke, Robinson Crusoe and Friday, the funeral practices of ants, and Jewish burial practices.

Support us on Patreon to access episodes early, bonus content, and a video version of our podcast.

Social Media:

Broken Hearts

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Dermot O'Connor, Kelly Bryan, Blooms & Barnacles) — Wed, 15 Feb 2023 05:00:00 +0000

Corpses rarely wear hats.

Topics include the correspondent organ of Hades (the heart), the O’Connell Circle, Daniel O’Connell’s heart, Tom Kernan, hats, losing your identity in the underworld, freemasonery, whether or not Leopold Bloom is a mason, Mount Jerome and the Irish church, Bloom’s denial of an afterlife, humor in the face of death, ghosts in a modern epic, Corny Kelleher, John Henry Menton, a fateful game of bowls, Dublin’s Ajax, John O’Connell as Hades, John O’Connell as St. Peter, Mulcahy from the Coombe, and the kindness of John O’Connell.

Support us on Patreon to access early episodes early, bonus content, and a video version of our podcast.

Social Media:

Subscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:

Dominenamine

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Blooms & Barnacles) — Wed, 1 Feb 2023 05:00:00 +0000

Is there really a church in Dublin full of deadly corpsegas?

Topics discussed in this episode include Cardinal McCabe and his mausoleum, the fate of orphans and widows in 1904, “Three Women to Every Men,” Leopold Bloom’s irreverence in the face of mortality, Victoria and Albert, getting up a whip, John Henry Menton, Elpinor, Cerberus, Father Coffey, a thing with a knob on the end going into a bucket, Cock Robin, Mervyn Browne, St. Werburgh’s organ, corpsegas, aspergills and aspersoriums, and going through the motions.

Support us on Patreon to access early episodes early, bonus content, and a video version of our podcast.

Social Media:

Subscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:

Murderer's Ground

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Blooms & Barnacles) — Wed, 18 Jan 2023 05:00:00 +0000

Wanna grab a pint at the Brian Boroimhe? Or is it Boroihme? Boru?

Topics discussed in this episode include the days when cattle roamed the North Circular Road, the Royal Canal, the identity of Dublin’s own Charon, locks, how realistic it would be for Bloom to walk to Mullingar (it’s not), the Brian Boroimhe House, Tom Kernan’s debts to Mr. Fogarty, white silence, the popularity of Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s poem “Hiram Powers’ Greek Slave”, thunderous loins, M’Intosh foreshadowing, the Childs murder case, what the heck a “felly” is, the disappointment of a paltry funeral, simnel cakes, defeating Cerberus, Elpinor’s drunken misadventure, Ned Lambert, Joe Hynes, Corny Kelleher, hired mutes from Lalouette’s, and the lost art of keening.

Support us on Patreon to access early episodes early, bonus content, and a video version of our podcast.

On the Blog:

A POLISHED PERIOD

Social Media:

Subscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:

The Dead (Patreon Bonus)

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Blooms & Barnacles) — Wed, 11 Jan 2023 15:30:18 +0000

Kelly and Dermot talk about James Joyce's "The Dead" as well as John Huston's 1987 film of the same name. This episode was originally released as a bonus episode on our Patreon.

To view a video version of this episode, check it out on YouTube: https://youtu.be/PSeZPqX5xyk

To support the show and get monthly bonus content, join our Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/barnaclecast

Has anybody here seen Kelly?

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Blooms & Barnacles) — Wed, 4 Jan 2023 05:00:00 +0000

Kay ee double ell wy. I can’t this song out of my head.

Topics in this episode include Dermot on quantum mechanics, the phenomenon of ebullition, galloping funeral carriages, the Gordon Bennett, top speeds of old race cars, 100+ year old music hall songs, the Mater hospital, Orion, Joe Cuffe, sassy Leopold Bloom, kindness to animals, the North Circular Road, Dunphy’s Corner, drinking to the health of a corpse, the elixir of life, incubism, why Hades is where the heart is, embalming practices, and explosions so big they blow your pants off.

If you enjoy the podcast, please consider supporting us at Patreon.

On the Blog:

Incubism

Social Media:

Subscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:

Glasnevin Cemetery (w/ Martin Mooney

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Blooms & Barnacles) — Wed, 21 Dec 2022 05:00:00 +0000

We are thrilled to welcome Martin Mooney, taphologist extraordinaire, as the guest on our 100th episode! Martin gives us a once-in-a-lifetime tour of Glasnevin Cemetery.

If you enjoy the podcast, please consider supporting us at Patreon.

The Best Death

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Blooms & Barnacles) — Wed, 7 Dec 2022 05:00:00 +0000

Rattle his bones over the stones! He ’s only a pauper whom nobody owns!

Content Warning: This episode contains discussions of infant death and suicide.

Topics in this episode include an O’Connell St. history quiz, how Dermot was radicalized as a ten-year-old, the demise of Nelson’s pillar, the floozie in the jacuzzi, Paddy’s adelite face (or was it adelaide?), John Barleycorn, the spiritual tragedy of a sudden death, last rites, extreme unction, Bloom’s lack of understanding about Catholic death rituals, Fr. Mathew, the remnants of Upper O’Connell St., the tractor in the photo to the left, the ghosts of O’Connell St., the absence of the Parnell monument, Bloom’s funeral color scheme, a possible cause for Rudy Bloom’s death, “The Pauper’s Drive”, Catholic stigma against suicide, Mr. Power puts his foot in his mouth, the kindness of Martin Cunningham, unbaptized infants in limbo, the death of Bloom’s father, aconite poisoning, the color purple, and Bloom’s lack of belief in an afterlife.

Sweny's Patreon helps keep this marvelous Dublin landmark alive. Please subscribe!

Social Media:

Subscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:

Who Was the Real Reuben J. Dodd?

Reuben J. Dodd

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Blooms & Barnacles) — Wed, 23 Nov 2022 05:00:00 +0000

How long can you hold a grudge?

Topics in this episode include Mr. Power’s kept woman, hot 1904 gossip, rumpsteak, Reuben J. Dodd the Younger’s plunge into the Liffey, Bloom’s storytelling ability, pre-decimal currency, petty score settling, Elvery’s elephant, our favorite vegetarian restaurant in Dublin, Barabbas, chisellers, gombeens, usury, antisemitic stereotypes, whether Bloom is a self-loathing Jew, Benjamin Disraeli, the relationship of the real Reuben J. Dodd and John Joyce, the relationship of the real Reuben J. Dodd Jr. and James Joyce, Dodd’s story as told in the Irish Worker, Reuben J. Dodd’s lawsuit against the BBC, the ripple effects of Dodd’s litigiousness, the use of “Jew” as a slur, the pitfalls of assuming religion based on surnames, Harford from “Grace”, Dermot’s editorial suggestions for James Joyce, the identity of Dodd’s rescuer, Bloom’s fiscal responsibility, incubism, the drowning motif, defacing money, and the symbolism of the florin.

Sweny's Patreon helps keep this marvelous Dublin landmark alive. Please subscribe!

On the Blog:

Social Media:

Subscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:

https://paulringo.blogspot.com/

Henrik Ibsen

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Paul Ringo, Blooms & Barnacles) — Wed, 9 Nov 2022 05:00:00 +0000

Do you have the address of Henry Gibson?

Kelly and Dermot welcome special guest Paul Ringo to Blooms & Barnacles. Topics include Joyce’s love of Henrik Ibsen, Paul’s love of Finnegans Wake via the stage, Joyce’s study of Norwegian, realism as seen in the works of Joyce and Ibsen, the artist as a conduit for the world’s filth, Joyce’s dream to Europeanize Ireland, the search for Henry Gibson, Joyce’s attempt to introduce Ibsen to Ireland, Joyce’s letter to Ibsen on his birthday, Joyce’s review of When We Dead Awaken, Hedda Gabler’s influence onUlysses, gender roles in the works of Joyce and Ibsen, Ibsen’s self-imposed exile, A Doll’s House’s influence on “The Dead”, the influence of Peer Gynt on Ulysses, Stanislaus Joyce and My Brother’s Keeper, A Brilliant Career, Lou Reed, Laugh In, and who Paul would like to play in Hedda Gabler.

Sweny's Patreon helps keep this marvelous Dublin landmark alive. Please subscribe!

Paul Ringo:

Social Media:

Subscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:

Worst Man in Dublin

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Blooms & Barnacles) — Wed, 26 Oct 2022 04:00:00 +0000

The Worst Man in Dublin.

Topics in this episode include begrudgery, so much Dublin geography, mourning customs, buildings found on Great Brunswick (Pearse) St., jarvies and the hazard, the Invincibles, the Antient Concert Rooms, Joyce’s music career, John McCormack and J.C. Doyle, Dermot’s history with the erstwhile Antient Concert Rooms’ building, St. Mark’s Church, Bloom’s strange alibi, Blazes Boylan, Books Upstairs, St. Mark’s church on Pearse St., a tale of graverobbery, Sir Philip Crampton’s memorial fountain bust, the difficulties of historical preservation in Dublin, Molly’s concert tour, Bloom’s side quest to Co. Clare, dipsomania, William Smith O’Brien, identities encoded in hats, Felix O’Callaghan, snuff at a wake, Molly’s routine, “La Ci Darem La Mano,” and Bloom’s broken heart.

Sweny's Patreon helps keep this marvelous Dublin landmark alive. Please subscribe!

Social Media:

Subscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:

Walking beside Molly in an Eton suit.

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Blooms & Barnacles) — Mon, 10 Oct 2022 15:59:36 +0000

What kind of person has a picnic party in a funeral carriage?

Topics in this episode include a heartfelt thank you, cats that hate technology, the name Poldy, Eton suits, the Blooms’ middle class pretensions, Rudy’s conception, Raymond Terrace and the cease to do evil, Milly Bloom, crustcrumbs and picnic parties, Milly’s trip to Lough Owel, M’Coy, “Grace”, Joe Hynes, incubism, unpaid debts, the Grand Canal, cures for whooping cough, duchas.ie, Athos the dog, Rudolph Bloom’s suicide note, Argos the dog, the immensity of Tom Kernan, the uncertainty of the weather in Ireland, correspondences, “The Croppy Boy”, the 1798 Rebellion, the Peake from Crosbie and Alleyne’s, “Counterparts”, and the real life inspiration for Alleyne in “Counterparts”.

Sweny's Patreon helps keep this marvelous Dublin landmark alive. Please subscribe!

Social Media:

Subscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:

A Fine Old Custom

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Kelly Bryan) — Wed, 14 Sep 2022 04:00:00 +0000

I’ll tickle his catastrophe, believe you me!

Topics include Ulysses tarot cards, incubism, the system of correspondences found in Ulysses, Martin Cunningham, Mr Power, Simon Dedalus, armstraps, caring for corpses, women’s role in caring for the dead, hats as identities, economic incubism, Bloom’s outsider status, Irish funeral customs, embalming, why Dignam’s widow doesn’t attend his funeral, keening, Rudy, 9 Newbridge Avenue, circulation and the heart, Dublin through a corpse-eye-view, funerals traveling through the center of town, Six Feet Under, an anonymous Englishman, kippers, Bloom as a defier of custom, fidus Achates, hat etiquette, Strumpet City, a wild Stephen appears, Latin Quarter hat, Richie Goulding, Bright’s disease, Simon Dedalus’ way with words, Ignatius Gallaher, “A Little Cloud,” the incubus of alcohol, Simon’s hatred of Buck Mulligan, Elizabethan insults, and the Joyce family’s connection to Clery’s.

Sweny's Patreon helps keep this marvelous Dublin landmark alive. Please subscribe!

On the Blog:

Incubism

Social Media

Subscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:

Who Was the Real Paddy Dignam?

As Decent a Little Man as Ever Wore a Hat

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Blooms & Barnacles) — Tue, 30 Aug 2022 15:17:12 +0000

Shakespeare is in the eye of the beholder.

Topics in this episode include the real-world inspiration for Paddy’s Dignam’s funeral, Matthew Kane, the funeral cortège to Glasnevin, attendees to Matthew Kane’s funeral, Martin Cunningham, Sisyphus, the short story “Grace,” the true story behind “Grace,” the Jesuits, Matthew Kane attending his own funeral, Matthew Kane’s appearance in “Ithaca,” Michael Hart, Tom Kernan, Matthew Kane’s appearance, Shakespeare in the eyes of his beholders, visiting Matthew Kane’s gravestone, zombie Shakespeare, Martin Cunningham’s wife and Matthew Kane’s wife, ghostly voices, the origin of the name Patrick Dignam, temperance or the lack thereof, the Patrick Dignam who lived near Leopold Bloom’s house, the reason for the crumby carriage seats in “Hades,” and Paddy Dignam’s alleged role in the Easter Rising.

Sweny's Patreon helps keep this marvelous Dublin landmark alive. Please subscribe!

On the Blog:

Social Media

Subscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:

Ulysses & The Odyssey: Hades

Hades

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Blooms & Barnacles) — Sun, 7 Aug 2022 16:51:45 +0000

The parallels between Bloom and Odysseus’ journeys to the Underworld.

Topics include a summary of Chapter XI of The Odyssey, Bloom as sideways Odysseus, the neighborhoods of Glasnevin and Sandymount, Paddy Dignam and his “apoplexy,” Elpenor, Martin Cunningham the Sisyphus of Dublin, Dublin’s waterways, Dublin’s Charon, coins for the eyes, psychopomps, Reuben J. Dodd, Corny Kelleher, Cerberus, Father Coffey, simnel cakes, Dublin’s Hades and Persephone, the Nekuia, Joycean Hercules, Agamemnon and Ajax, Robert Emmet as Tiresias, cricket, the number eleven, why Bloom goes to the Underworld in the morning, Viconian cycles, Richard Ellmann’s theory of cycles, Bloom’s non-denial of death, parallels of “Hades” and “Proteus,” the poetry of Al-Ma’arri, seadeath as the easiest death, and Bloom’s affirmation of life.

Sweny's Patreon helps keep this marvelous Dublin landmark alive. Please subscribe!

On the Blog:

Social Media

Subscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:

Bantams and Bathtubs

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Blooms & Barnacles) — Wed, 20 Jul 2022 15:47:58 +0000

“Bantam” is an anagram of “Batman.” Coincidence?

Topics include the state of Bantam Lyons’ hygiene, horseracing, Conway’s pub, cat wrangling, the Ascot Gold Cup, Throwaway, Bloom’s accidental racing tip, Dublin geography, Bloom’s disinterest in gambling, lotuses, the fleshpots of Egypt, Dermot’s dad’s betting tips, Orientalism, the Lincoln Place baths, sports as a lotus, Joyce’s love of cricket, Turkish hammams, the Victorians’ love of baths, the morality of baths, the precarity of the middle class, Bloom’s bath-sturbation, Bloom’s unholy communion, magical soap, the bath as a womb, and the bath as a vagina.

Sweny's Patreon helps keep this marvelous Dublin landmark alive. Please subscribe!

On the Blog & Podcast

Sweny the Alchemist

Social Media

Subscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:

Bloomsday 2022

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Kelly Bryan) — Tue, 28 Jun 2022 11:12:43 +0000

Dermot and Kelly take to the streets of Dublin on Bloomsday 2022 with the goal to talk to as many people celebrating the occasion as possible. They talk to revelers at the Sandycove Martello Tower, Kennedy’s Pub in Lincoln Place, outside Sweny’s Pharmacy, and on Duke St. in the general vicinity of Davy Byrne’s.

Many, many thanks to all the delightful people that spoke to us!

Sweny's Patreon helps keep this marvelous Dublin landmark alive. Please subscribe!

Blooms & Barnacles Social Media:

Subscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:

http://www.aedinmoloney.com/

Yes! Reflections of Molly Bloom (w/ Aedín Moloney)

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Kelly Bryan) — Tue, 21 Jun 2022 14:11:02 +0000

Kelly speaks with actress Aedín Moloney about playing Molly Bloom in her one-woman show, Yes! Reflections of Molly Bloom.

Aedín Moloney:

Instagram | Twitter

Blooms & Barnacles Social Media:

Subscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:

Ep. 30 - Sweny’s Revisited (w/ PJ Murphy & Jack Walsh)

NIGHTTOWN (w/ Benjamin Wenzelberg)

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Blooms & Barnacles) — Wed, 8 Jun 2022 04:00:00 +0000

Blooms & Barnacles chat with composer Benjamin Wenzeberg about his new, Ulysses-inspired opera NIGHTTTOWN.

Topics include adapting Ulysses for the stage, the process of writing an opera during Covid, gender politics and #metoo in Ulysses, gender-inclusive casting, Molly as a force of nature, the proper use of Italian, the symbolic power of musical notation, and Stephen Dedalus’ vulnerability.

Chemists rarely move.

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Kelly Bryan) — Wed, 18 May 2022 04:00:00 +0000

Is a bar of soap just a bar of soap?

Topics in this episode include Leopold Bloom’s visit to Sweny’s Pharmacy, how often chemists move, Dublin geography, Bloom’s forgetfulness, the shrunken skull of Sweny the pharmacist, lotuses in the chemist’s, the philosopher’s stone, doing drugs, distilled water prices, Bloom’s filthy bath plans, the lemon soap, the Victorian virtue of cleanliness, perpetual power through consumer goods, Victorian soap ads, the politics of soap advertising, Bloom’s judgement of Bantam Lyons, magical soap, Brooke’s Monkey Brand soap, Mr. Plinkett, moly and Molly.

Sweny's Patreon helps keep this marvelous Dublin landmark alive. Please subscribe!

On the Blog & Podcast

Sweny the Alchemist

Ep. 5 - Sweny’s Pharmacy

Social Media

Subscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:

How long since your last mass?

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Kelly Bryan) — Wed, 4 May 2022 04:00:00 +0000

Have you repented for the sin of reading this filthy book yet?

Topics in this episode include the Spanish Inquisition, English v. Latin, the Leonine prayers, the similarity between Catholic Mass and Columbo, Dermot’s priest voice, praying for the conversion of godless Communists, the difficulty of leaving Dodger stadium, Joyce’s parody of the Leonine prayers, Mike Birbiglia’s parody of the Mass, the hypocrisy of Confession, Leopold Bloom’s pragmatic view of Catholic Mass, the power wielded by Catholic priests because of Confession, Martha, whispering galleries, Joseph as the butt of the joke, the Salvation Army, the Salvation Navy, the Fermanagh will case, the Doctors of the Church, Brother Buzz, the Archangel Michael, Oliver St. John Gogarty, syphillis, and Phillip Glass.

Sweny's Patreon helps keep this marvelous Dublin landmark alive. Please subscribe!

Social Media:

Subscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:

One Old Booser Worse than Another

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Kelly Bryan) — Thu, 21 Apr 2022 11:50:57 +0000

Why can’t we use Guinness instead of wine at Mass?

Topics include Leopold Bloom’s thoughts on Communion wine, lots of lotuses, why wine must be used in the Mass instead of Guinness, temperance, transubstantiation, shew wine, cadging wine at Mass, Old Glynn, sacred music, Rossini’s Stabat Mater, footdrill, sacred music as a lotus, how sacred music is a bit sexy, how sacred music helps put butts in seats, Mercadante, Mozart, Palestrina, Dermot’s love of 12th c. polyphony, the Liturgy of the Hours, Benedictine and Chartreuse, and castrati.

Sweny's Patreon helps keep this marvelous Dublin landmark alive. Please subscribe!

Social Media:

Subscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:

Decoding Bloom: The Opiate of the Mass

Iron Nails Ran In

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Blooms & Barnacles) — Fri, 21 Jan 2022 03:49:12 +0000

Give us this day our daily Bloom.

Topics in this episode include: mazzoth, shewbread, matzo v. Communion wafer, what it feels like to consume the body of Christ in the Eucharist, more cannibals, the hokey pokey and whether or not it mocks the Catholic Mass, Leopold Bloom use of popular culture to connect with more complex issues, the feeling of religious community, how Holy Communion is like Plumtree’s Potted Meat, the spectacle of the Mass, Lourdes water, the Knock apparition, moving statues, salt stain Mary in Chicago (she was under the Kennedy Expressway, not Wacker Drive!), the narcotic quality of the Mass, IHS and INRI, the Invincibles and the Phoenix Park Murders, details hidden in addresses, James Carey, and suspicions against ostentatiously pious people.

Sweny's Patreon helps keep this marvelous Dublin landmark alive. Please subscribe!

On the Blog:

Social Media:

Subscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:

Decoding Bloom: The Lotus Eaters Sutra

Eating Bits of a Corpse (w/ Russell Raphael)

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Kelly Bryan) — Wed, 5 Jan 2022 13:00:00 +0000

Is the Eucharist tantamount to cannibalism? Let’s ask Thomas Aquinas.

Topics in this episode include: Fr. Conmee, Martin Cunningham, why Molly wasn’t admitted to the choir, bluey specs, Jesuit rock stars, Bloom’s skepticism of priests, a story from James Joyce’s 50th birthday party, the Eucharist, transubstantiation, the romantic possibilities of Mass, scapulars, nuns, everything Leopold Bloom doesn’t know about Holy Communion, blasphemy galore, what the Mass has in common with Hogwarts, Vatican II, the horrors of biting into the Communion wafer, the Latin Mass, the Eucharist as a lotus, practical uses for Latin, a possible connection between cannibalism and the Eucharist, Thomas Aquinas’ take on the cannibalistic Eucharist, sensualist heresy, the perfect last words, and a conversation with Russell Raphael about his book, An Understanding of Ulysses: Normal Joyce for Normal People.

Sweny's Patreon helps keep this marvelous Dublin landmark alive. Please subscribe!

On the Blog:

Decoding Bloom: The Opiate of the Mass

Social Media:

https://www.russellraphael.com/

Subscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:

Where to Find Russell’s Book:

Amazon

The Buddha in the Museum

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Kelly Bryan) — Wed, 22 Dec 2021 20:58:00 +0000

What did James Joyce think of Buddhism?

Topics in this episode include: All Hallows or St. Andrew’s Church?, why Bloom hangs out in a church, the very reverend John Conmee S.J., sectarian scorekeeping, prayers for Gladstone, St. Peter Claver, the Opium Wars, racist poetry, the reclining Buddha statue in the National Museum of Ireland, Leopold Bloom misconceptions about Buddhism, Walter White’s misconceptions about Buddhism, depictions of the Buddha in art, what Joyce did and didn’t know about Buddhism, Buddhism viewed through lens of Western spiritualism, Joyce’s 1903 review of H. Fielding Hall’s A Soul of a People, Joyce’s characterization of Buddhism as a “passive philosophy,” Paul Carus and The Gospel of Buddha, whether or not Buddhism is a religion, the Bill Murray movie that best illustrates Buddhist principles, the Anglo-Burmese wars, U Dhammaloka, Orientalism, Homer’s lotus eaters and Buddhism, the Buddhist symbolism of the lotus, vegetarianism, tales from the Hegeler-Carus mansion, Ecce Homo, and Patrick’s sham shamrock.

No rose without thorns.

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Kelly Bryan) — Sat, 11 Dec 2021 23:27:50 +0000

Did James Joyce once covertly suggest a new Guinness slogan?

Topics in this episode include Mary Lost the Pin of her Drawers, flat Dublin voices, the Coombe, Bloom’s preoccupation with correct pronoun-antecedent agreement, Jesus in the house of Martha and Mary, a famlus forgery, Ashtown and the trottingmatches, a famous hole in the wall, alcohol has the ultimate lotus, Barons Iveagh and Ardilaun, whether or not Jeff Bezos’ skin produces lice and vermin, whether or not Joyce had a vendetta against the Guinness family, whether or not Joyce tried to outdo the classic slogan “Guinness is good for you”, “James’s Choice”, Joyce’s (possible) Guinness slogan, Guinness references in Finnegans Wake, Joyceans in the upper echelons of the Guinness brewery, Guinness’ embrace of all things James Joyce in the early 80’s, Guinness business woes in the same era, and why one might invent an apocryphal story for fun and profit.

Sweny's Patreon helps keep this marvelous Dublin landmark alive. Please subscribe!

Social Media:

Subscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:

The Language of Flowers

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Kelly Bryan) — Fri, 19 Nov 2021 21:16:03 +0000

“Angry tulips with you darling manflower punish your cactus if you don’t please poor forgetmenot how I long violets to dear roses when we soon anemone meet all naughty nightstalk wife Martha’s perfume.”

Kelly and Dermot untangle the mysterious language of flowers. Topics include James Joyce’s affair with Marthe Fleischmann, the pitfalls of method acting, Kate Bush, the tonal shifts in Martha Clifford’s letter to Henry Flower, narcissism and self-gratification, Martha’s connection to the Otherworld, whether or not Bloom will ever meet Martha in person, the Victorian language of flowers, an angry vagina, a manflower and a Flower Man, cactuses v. lianas, coactus volui, nightstocks, how Martha’s letter defies Chekhov’s gun, a cigar that’s not just a cigar, the correspondence of James Joyce and Nora Barnacle, Martha topping from the bottom, Martha as a talented kinkster, Giacomo Joyce, a possibility for that “other word,” Bloom’s dirty letters to Molly, and the worst pick-up lines.

Sweny's Patreon helps keep this marvelous Dublin landmark alive. Please subscribe!

On the Blog:

The Language of Flowers

Social Media:

Subscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:

The Secret Life of Martha Clifford

Martha

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Kelly Bryan) — Thu, 4 Nov 2021 02:49:37 +0000

Henry dear, do not deny my request before my patience are exhausted.

In this episode, Kelly and Dermot try to figure out who Martha, Leopold Bloom’s saucy penpal, could really be. Topics include Dermot’s interest in Islam, Bloom’s missing hour, Leah the Forsaken, jugginses and guttapercha, castration anxiety, hopscotch and marbles, senior infants, Martha’s letter, Martha’s possible true identity, why Martha is interested in Molly’s perfume, Kelly harshly debunks popular theories about Martha’s identity, possible reasons for Martha’s lack of skill as a smart lady typist, piña coladas, Lizzie Twigg, wild speculation, Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine, Miss Dunne, Gerty MacDowell, Peggy Griffin, Bloom’s secret cipher that may reveal Martha’s identity, and why Ignatius Gallaher is definitely not Martha Clifford.

Sweny's Patreon helps keep this marvelous Dublin landmark alive. Please subscribe!

On the Blog:

Social Media:

Subscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:

An Abode of Bliss

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Kelly Bryan) — Mon, 25 Oct 2021 18:33:57 +0000

The Blooms’ household is anything but an abode of bliss.

In this episode, topics include: Plumtree’s Potted Meat, Joyce’s love for advertising, the narcotic effect of adspeak, why Plumtree’s Potted Meat is the perfect metaphor for a modern Odysseus, M’Coy’s various scams, Boylan’s metaphorically significant gifts to Molly, Bloom’s missing hour and how his cat helps solve this mystery, Love’s Old Sweet Song, why M’Coy doesn’t turn up at Dignam’s funeral, Mrs. M’Coy, smallpox in Belfast, M’Coy as an unflattering mirror of Bloom, how Plumtree’s Potted Meat reveals Bloom’s connection to Moses, the symbolic motif of the plum in Ulysses, the ritual consumption of flesh, how waste product becomes meat through transubstantiation, Plumtree’s Potted Meat as a magical spell, and what Plumtree’s Potted Meat has in common with The Sopranos.

Sweny's Patreon helps keep this marvelous Dublin landmark alive. Please subscribe!

On the Blog:

Plumtree’s Potted M’Coy

Social Media:

Subscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:

M'Coy. Get rid of him quickly.

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Blooms & Barnacles) — Thu, 7 Oct 2021 02:31:44 +0000

Leopold Bloom braves an awkward stop-and-chat.

Topics in this episode include: Leopold Bloom’s encounter with M’Coy, what Bloom has in common with Larry David, M’Coy as a character in “Grace”, M’Coy as an early prototype for Bloom, a quincunx, Bloom wrestles with his Shadow, Bloom trying to catch a glimpse of a woman’s leg, outsider jaunting cars, Hoppy Holohan, Bob Doran, Bantam Lyons, more lotuses, Ivy Day, Charles Stewart Parnell and Home Rule, foostering, the symbolism of Bloom’s interrupted ogling, the technic of narcissism, and the peri.

Sweny's Patreon helps keep this marvelous Dublin landmark alive. Please subscribe!

On the Blog:

Plumtree’s Potted M’Coy

Social Media:

Subscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:

Ground Control to Major Tweedy

Henry Flower, Esq

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Blooms & Barnacles) — Thu, 23 Sep 2021 02:59:39 +0000

Mr. Bloom runs a mysterious errand at the Westland Row Post Office.

Topics include hidden lotuses, Corny Kelleher, Leopold Bloom’s missing hour, tooraloom tooraloom tay, Orientalism and Bloom’s fantasy of the Far East, stereotypes about climate’s affects the character of a culture, Tom Kernan, how Bloom succumbs to the Lotus Eaters, Henry Flower, what Bloom has hidden in his hat, Major Tweedy and the Royal Dublin Fusiliers, the Lotus Eaters of the British military, Maud Gonne’s awkward activism, Edward VII’s freemasonry.

Sweny's Patreon helps keep this marvelous Dublin landmark alive. Please subscribe!

On the Blog:

Maud Gonne

Social Media:

Subscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:

Ulysses and The Odyssey: The Lotus Eaters

The Lotus Eaters

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Kelly Bryan) — Wed, 8 Sep 2021 12:00:00 +0000

We begin our foray into the languorous “Lotus Eaters” episode.

Topics in this episode include how Kelly is like the Terminator, Odysseus and his crew’s misadventure with the Lotus Eaters in The Odyssey, why forgetfulness is evil in Odysseus’ view, some peculiar tales from Westland Row, cultivating an appreciation for the mundane, the Lotus Eaters that Bloom encounters in Westland Row, whether or not the Lotus Eaters were really all that bad, bliss ninnies and how they are a diversion from true enlightenment, hologram utopia, a detour into tales of psychedelia, Leopold Bloom as a Lotus Eater, religion as anaesthetic, the alchemy of Sweny’s chemist, narcissism, a wounded male ego, a one-sided affair, coping with uncertainty, Bloom’s failure to connect with his acquaintances in “Lotus Eaters,” and avoiding intellectual lotuses.

Sweny's Patreon helps keep this marvelous Dublin landmark alive. Please subscribe!

On the Blog:

Social Media:

Subscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:

Is Leopold Bloom Phoenician?

Irish Orientalism

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Blooms & Barnacles) — Wed, 25 Aug 2021 12:00:00 +0000

We explore Leopold Bloom’s connection to the ancient Phoenicians.

Topic covered in this episode include: social hierarchies in Ireland, Dubliners v. culchies, Leopold Bloom’s fascination with the Orient, how imperial British culture informs Bloom’s worldview, whether or not some people in Irish society benefited from colonialism, the Celtic Revival movement, how the Revivalist applied an Orientalist worldview to the West of Ireland, the view that the first settlers of Ireland came from the Near East, The Book of Invasions, the adventures of the Milesians on their way to ancient Ireland, how DNA has changed the way we see ancient Ireland, the belief that the Irish descended from the ancient Phoenicians, the belief that Ireland was Calypso’s island in The Odyssey, Charles Vallancey’s belief that the Irish language came from Phoenicia, Irish Orientalism, the cultural function of an Irish connection to the East, Orientalism as a tool for nationalism, the inequality and racial purity of Revivalism, James Joyce’s view on Irish Orientalism, what an Irish-Phoenician connection adds to the character of Leopold Bloom, and how a connection to ancient Phoenicia allows for a more inclusive view of Ireland.

Sweny's Patreon helps keep this marvelous Dublin landmark alive. Please subscribe!

On the Blog:

Social Media:

Subscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:

In the Jakes with Mr. Bloom

Titbits

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Blooms & Barnacles) — Wed, 11 Aug 2021 12:00:00 +0000

Does Leopold Bloom seem a bit anal retentive to you?

Content Warning: We talk an awful lot about poo in this one. If that’s not your cup of tea, use your own discretion.

In this episode, Dermot and Kelly finish Ulysses’ fourth episode - “Calypso.” Topics include Ezra Pound’s sense of propriety, the number of toilets in the Bloom household, Titbits, using dung to clean kid gloves, James Stephens, Dlugacz’s mere enthusiasm, jakes v. jacks, cuckstools, Matcham’s Masterstroke and Mr. Philip Beaufoy, Bloom’s desire to write his own prize Titbits story, Joyce’s own failed attempt to be printed in Titbits, when Molly met Boylan, Ponchielli’s Dance of the Hours, Westminster Quarters, overthinking Bloom’s “heigh-ho’s”, glorious hypostasis, filth, Leopold Bloom’s anal fixation, James Joyce and psychoanalysis, the power struggle of Freud’s anal stage, the anal retentive personality and whether it is an apt description of Bloom.

Sweny's Patreon helps keep this marvelous Dublin landmark alive. Please subscribe!

On the Blog:

Social Media:

Subscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:

Dearest Papli

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Kelly Bryan) — Wed, 28 Jul 2021 12:00:00 +0000

Is a picnic really just picnic?

In this episode, Dermot and Kelly discuss Milly’s letter from Mullingar, those lovely seaside girls, Milly’s purpose in the narrative of Ulysses, the implication of a picnic, whether or not Milly is a poor substitute for Rudy, the significance of Milly’s fifteenth birthday, how Milly’s maturity has affected her parents’ marriage, Freud’s concepts of censorship and projection, Leopold and Molly projecting their insecurities onto Milly, Milly as a looking glass, whether or not Milly is nothing but a mini-Molly, whether or not incest is a major theme in Ulysses, Leopold and Milly’s jaunt on the Erin’s King, how concerned Bloom should be about Bannon, and Bloom’s knowledge that he can’t control Milly.

Agendath Netaim

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Kelly Bryan) — Wed, 14 Jul 2021 12:00:00 +0000

Leopold Bloom contemplates the purchase of immense melonfields north of Jaffa.

Topics covered in this episode include the Zionist movement of the early 20th century, how to pronounce Agendath Netaim, why Joyce might have changed Agudat to Agendath, hypostasis, the business sense (or nonsense) of buying farmland in Palestine, Bleibtreustrasse 34, morphic resonance, Dlugacz the porkbutcher as Hermes, whether or not Bloom is a Zionist, Citron, Mastiansky, and St. Kevin’s Parade, why Bloom’s rejection of Zion makes him more like Odysseus, James Joyce’s thoughts on Zionism, and toxic nostalgia.

Sweny's Patreon helps keep this marvelous Dublin landmark alive. Please subscribe!

On the Blog:

Agendath Netaim

Social Media:

Subscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:

U22: The Centenary Ulysses Podcast

Bloomsday 2021

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Blooms & Barnacles) — Wed, 16 Jun 2021 12:00:00 +0000

Happy Bloomsday, one and all!

Enjoy a selection of readings from Ulysses by our talented listeners from across the globe. It’s a Bloomsday bash you can listen to anywhere. Just add gorgonzola and burgundy!

Cool stuff to support:

Sweny's Patreon helps keep this marvelous Dublin landmark alive. Please subscribe!

Ulysses - for the Rest of Us!

A free book club hosted by the Museum of Literature Ireland and Conner Habib

Consider supporting Conner Habib’s Patreon

Friends of Joyce Tower Society

Oranbega Retreat Center

Social Media:

Subscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:

Many thanks to our readers:

Ian Giles, Nestor, 08:37

Brendan Tannam, Nestor, 13:19

Linus Ignatius, Proteus, 21:47

Ilaria Susmel, Proteus, 36:20

Jenny Reece, Calypso, 40:15

Conor Farnan, Lotus Eaters, 49:01

Michael O’Shea, Hades, 56:52

Paul Ringo, Hades, 01:03:53

Tad Davis, Hades, 01:12:18

Andrew Basquille, Aeolus, 01:19:35

Mark Segall, Scylla and Charybdis, 01:28:00

Molly McLaughlin, Wandering Rocks, 01:34:54

Noah Chiles, Sirens, 01:40:16

Joe Gallagher, Sirens, 01:44:38

Jack Friary, Cyclops, 01:49:07

Senan Molony, Cyclops, 01:51:08

Margaret Harvey-O’Kelly, Nausicaa, 02:05:10

Allen Mahan, Nausicaa, 02:14:02

Philip de Bary, Oxen of the Sun, 02:19:54

Ted Morrissey, Oxen of the Sun, 02:28:51

Paul Creaner, Oxen of the Sun, 02:37:24

Russell Raphael, Circe, 02:43:47

Steve Carey, Circe, 02:51:34

Maddy Melnick, Ithaca, 02:55:43

Jinan Ashraf, Ithaca, 03:01:24

Caraid O’Brien, Penelope, 03:03:35

Ruth Thompson, Penelope, 03:07:26

“Myler Keogh and the Portobello Bruiser,” performed by Andrew Basquille, 03:14:58

Met Him Pike Hoses

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Blooms & Barnacles) — Thu, 3 Jun 2021 01:38:55 +0000

We do our best to take Molly’s advice and tell it in plain words - what is metempsychosis?

Topics covered in this episode include Boylan’s bold hand, whether or not cats are kosher, moustache cups, secret letters, “La Ci Darem La Mano”, an orangekeyed chamberpot, how Molly can be both Calypso and Penelope, Joyce’s personal interest in metempsychosis, why understanding reincarnation is a key to understanding Ulysses as a whole, Molly’s quest for high quality erotica, the importance of Paul de Kock, nymphs, the truth about Photo Bits, Molly the nymph, metamorphosis v. metempsychosis, the importance of the body in Ulysses, and the union of body and mind.

Sweny's Patreon helps keep this marvelous Dublin landmark alive. Please subscribe!

On the Blog:

Met Him Pike Hoses

Social Media:

Subscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:

Leopold Bloom’s Journey Through the Orient

The Orientalism Episode

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Kelly Bryan) — Wed, 19 May 2021 12:00:00 +0000

Why is Leopold Bloom so captivated by the “mysterious East”?

In this episode we discuss the Orientalist motif in Ulysses, with a focus on “Calypso.” Topics include what is Orientalism?, how Orientalism manifests in Irish culture, the blurred continuum between Irish and British culture, Edward Said, why the “Orient” is really a dream, the Whig interpretation of history, what Leopold Bloom has in common with Julia Roberts, Haroun al-Raschid, Turko the Terrible, Molly’s connection to the East, Disney’s Aladdin, hypostasis of Dedalus and Bloom, In the Track of the Sun, Samuel Coleridge Taylor’s “Kubla Khan”, dulcimers, and why Bloom’s heritage makes him “Oriental” in the eyes of some.

Sweny's Patreon helps keep this marvelous Dublin landmark alive. Please subscribe!

On the Blog:

Social Media:

Subscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:

The Ferreteyed Porkbutcher

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Blooms & Barnacles) — Wed, 5 May 2021 21:14:50 +0000

This gland is your gland; this gland is my gland.

Bloom finally makes it to the butcher to buy his kidney! In this episode, we discuss the geography (or joggerfry) of Bloom’s neighborhood, Larry O’Rourke’s, Bloom’s idea to build a tramline from the quays to the cattle market, bartenders who become rich, the art of economics, Moses Dlugacz, why a Jewish butcher sells pork, the Woods family of 8 Eccles St., the stout “nextdoor girl,” whacking, Zionism, blurred cattle cropping, and Mr. Dlugacz’s “foxeyes.”

Sweny's Patreon helps keep this marvelous Dublin landmark alive. Please subscribe!

On the Blog:

Agendath Netaim

Social Media:

Subscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:

Potato I have.

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Kelly Bryan) — Wed, 21 Apr 2021 12:00:00 +0000

This week, we’re talkin’ ‘bout ‘tatoes!

Kelly and Dermot unpack the deeper symbolism behind Leopold Bloom’s idiosyncratic hobby of carrying a potato upon his person. Topics include Tayto crisps, Stephen and Bloom’s parallel lost keys, Bloom’s potato as a protective object, why the potato may actually possess magic powers, the potato as Odysseus’ moly, the potato as a panacea, the potato as a remedy for rheumatism, spud guns, potatoes as a fertility symbol, the potato as a mezuzah, the blasphemy of the potato, potato snobbery, the age of margarine, the potato’s role in Irish history, and amor matris.

Sweny's Patreon helps keep this marvelous Dublin landmark alive. Please subscribe!

On the Blog:

Bloom’s Potato

Social Media:

Subscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:

Ground Control to Major Tweedy

Old Tweedy's Big Moustaches

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Kelly Bryan) — Thu, 8 Apr 2021 22:20:38 +0000

Who was Molly Bloom’s father, Major Brian Cooper Tweedy? Far more than meets the eye.

Topics in this episode include Michael Caine and Zulu, what the heck a footleaf is and other lovely minutiae, the origin of the Blooms’ jingly-jangly bed, Major Brian Cooper Tweedy and his military career, Molly’s time in Gibraltar and her memories of her father, Rorke’s Drift, Plevna, cheating at auctions, philately, sparrowfarts, Wolseley and Gordon in Khartoum, deception and lies, classism in the British military, and many shocking facts about Major Tweedy.

Sweny's Patreon helps keep this marvelous Dublin landmark alive. Please subscribe!

On the Blog:

Social Media:

Subscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:

7 Eccles St.

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Blooms & Barnacles) — Wed, 24 Mar 2021 12:00:00 +0000

Organ meats: the breakfast of champions.

In this episode, we cover the opening pages of Ulysses’ fourth episode, “Calypso.” Topics include who eats organ meats, how Bloom’s thoughts are different from Stephen’s thoughts, the humbleness of “Calypso,” what mundane actions tell us about a character, kidneys as a correspondent organ in “Calypso”, art as the office of purgation, Joyce as an artistic kidney, the cyclical nature of waste, Bloom’s kidney as a burnt offering, Bloom’s cat, Bloom’s compassion toward animals, the fate of 7 Eccles St., the first Bloomsday, why 7 Eccles St. wasn’t preserved, and how to knock on Bloom’s front door anyway.

Sweny's Patreon helps keep this marvelous Dublin landmark alive. Please subscribe!

Social Media:

Subscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:

Calypso

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Blooms & Barnacles) — Wed, 10 Mar 2021 13:00:00 +0000

This week we cover the parallels to “Calypso,” the fourth episode of James Joyce’s Ulysses and Book V of Homer’s Odyssey. Topics include how Leopold Bloom and Odysseus are similar, how they’re different since Bloom is really a sideways Odysseus, Bloom as a feminine man, the danger of nostalgia, the Blooms’ many secrets, Molly as a character especially veiled in secrets, so much etymology, the location of Calypso’s island Ogygia, Gibraltar, the color yellow, the fate of the lost city of Atlantis, Blazes Boylan, who should play Blazes Boylan in a theoretical film version of Ulysses, Bannon and his Photo Girl, “Seaside Girls,” and the Bhagavad Gita.

Social Media:

Subscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:

Who Was the Real Leopold Bloom?

Altman the Saltman (w/ Vincent Altman O'Connor)

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Kelly Bryan) — Wed, 24 Feb 2021 13:00:00 +0000

In our last episode, we discussed people from James Joyce’s life who influenced the creation of Leopold Bloom. However, we left one question unanswered - why were none of these men from Dublin? Didn’t Joyce know any Jewish people in Dublin? Vincent Altman O’Connor’s research into this very question and the biography of his grandfather Albert Altman may very well be the answer to this riddle.

Topics discussed in this episode include Glasnevin’s many Joycean connections, the story of Albert Altman as a successful salt merchant and politician, Altman’s connection to the Invincibles, how Altman became an Irish Nationalist, the very many details from Altman family history that appear in Ulysses, a refutation of idea that Joyce didn’t know any Jewish people in Dublin, why Joyce may have had to conceal the identity of the “real” Leopold Bloom, why it is worth exploring real world parallels to the characters of Ulysses, Joyce as a political writer, the possibility that “Leopold Bloom” really did give Arthur Griffith the idea for Sinn Fein, Joycean misconceptions about Arthur Griffith, and coded psychotropographic allusions.

Sweny's Patreon helps keep this marvelous Dublin landmark alive. Please subscribe!

On the Blog:

Social Media:

Subscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:

Who Was the Real Leopold Bloom?

Who Was the Real Leopold Bloom?

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Blooms & Barnacles) — Wed, 10 Feb 2021 23:16:38 +0000

James Joyce based many characters in Ulysses on friends, family, acquaintances, and enemies, but what about Leopold Bloom? Who were the real people in Joyce’s life who inspired the creation of one of literature’s greatest protagonists?

Topics in this episode include people who Joyce thought looked like Leopold Bloom, the story of Alfred Hunter, why Joyce chose the address 7 Eccles St., how many pounds are in a stone, the inspiration for Bloom’s kindly-curious personality, Ettore Schmitz (Italo Svevo), how true friendship influenced Ulysses, why Bloom is Hungarian, why he’s called Leopold, how Leopold Bloom embodies the quality of maturity.

Sweny's Patreon helps keep this marvelous Dublin landmark alive. Please subscribe!

On the Blog:

Social Media:

Subscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:

James Joyce’s Poetic Rage

The Holy Office

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Kelly Bryan) — Wed, 27 Jan 2021 13:00:00 +0000

They both lived in a Martello Tower, sure, but what else do James Joyce and Bono have in common?

We take a short break from analyzing Ulysses to take a look at one of Joyce’s early poems - “The Holy Office.” If you love 100+ year old gossip, strap in! This one gets dishy. Topics include the significance of the year 1904 in James Joyce’s life, the Irish Literary Revival, a young Joyce’s penchant for writing angry poetry, Joyce’s desire for artistic Truth rather than mere aesthetics, why you should care about “The Holy Office” and how it will further your understanding of Ulysses, The Goblin - Joyce’s unrealized literary magazine, Joycean trash talk, the laxative qualities of Joyce’s writing, how the Irish Literary revival actually reinforced Victorian class structure and cultural mores, Cheddar Goblin, and why Joyce saw himself as the Aquinas of Dublin.

Sweny's Patreon helps keep this marvelous Dublin landmark alive. Please subscribe!

On the Blog:

Social Media:

Subscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:

Rere Regardant

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Blooms & Barnacles) — Wed, 13 Jan 2021 13:00:00 +0000

This episode’s passage comes from p. 50-51 in my edition of Ulysses (1990 Vintage International), and covers the passage beginning “Come. I thirst.” and ending “…a silent ship.”

We did it!!! We finally finished “Proteus”! We’re covering the last page of Ulysses’ third episode this week. Topics include Dermot’s love of tall ships and the Master and Commander novels, why a ship isn’t always a ship, Biblical allusions galore, why Stephen invokes Lucifer, cockle hats and sandal shoon, how Stephen tamed Proteus, half-remembered Tennyson, Stephen’s terrible teeth, themes of decay and creation, Kinch the Superman, the symbolism of shells, Stephen the nose picker, heraldry, the appearance of the Rosevean, and a nautical representation of the crucifixion.

Sweny's Patreon helps keep this marvelous Dublin landmark alive. Please subscribe!

Social Media:

Subscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:

Decoding Dedalus: God Becomes Featherbed Mountain

Barnacle Goose and Featherbed Mountain

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Kelly Bryan) — Wed, 30 Dec 2020 13:00:00 +0000

How exactly does God become a featherbed mountain? What the heck is a featherbed mountain? We answer these questions and more in this episode of Blooms & Barnacles!

Topics covered in this episode include Dermot’s hot take on Richard Dawkins, Renaissance magic, theosophy, metempsychosis, Dublin seagulls, linear v. cyclical world-views, Dermot takes on Jared Diamond, consubstantiality, the Stephen seeks freedom from his father, the ichthys symbol, minnows eating spongy titbits, Hamlet, the legend of the barnacle goose, Gerald of Wales, the conundrum that barnacle geese caused the Catholic Church, the immaculate conception of barnacle geese, domestic geese v. wild geese, the Featherbed Mountains, Molly’s featherbed, why Lenehan is the worst, and why Stephen needs the love and support of a good friend.

Sweny's Patreon helps keep this marvelous Dublin landmark alive. Please subscribe!

On the Blog:

Social Media:

Subscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:

Decoding Dedalus: Full Fathom Five

Full fathom five thy father lies.

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Kelly Bryan) — Wed, 16 Dec 2020 13:00:00 +0000

The end is nigh.

Kelly and Dermot discuss in the depth the drowning motif of “Proteus”. Other topics include The Tempest and Ariel’s Song, the wily nature of the sea, Stephen’s estrangement from his father Simon, the role of alcohol in the lives of Ulysses characters, quitting alcohol, rising corpses, sea change, porpoises, the ancient Egyptian Book of Thoth, spongy titbits, Stephen’s connection to a corpse, looking for a way out of a suffocating home life, why Buck Mulligan is a terrible friend, Stephen’s fear of failure and of becoming his father, Stephen’s guilt at abandoning his sisters, the mentality of a bucket of crabs, and why Dermot thinks the Dedalus family would have been great on The Jerry Springer Show.

On the Blog:

Social Media:

Subscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:

Fourworded Wavespeech

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Blooms & Barnacles) — Wed, 2 Dec 2020 13:00:00 +0000

**If you’re unfamiliar with the peeing Calvin decal (or if you are), here’s the story.

The divine and the profane live side by side in Ulysses. In this episode, we discuss what the heck Cock Lake is, why Stephen pees on the strand at the end of “Proteus”, the themes of generation and corruption in “Proteus”, the artistic merits of excrement, urination as an expression of freedom and creativity, Mother Grogan and her teapot, endowing waves with speech and animating the natural world, onomatopoeia, the rolling tide, St. Ambrose and the groaning of Creation, Ariel’s Song and The Tempest, and Dermot’s anti-Shakespeare propaganda.

Sweny's Patreon helps keep this marvelous Dublin landmark alive. Please subscribe!

Social Media:

Subscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:

Decoding Dedalus: A Dedalus Never Pays His Debts

Cranly's Arm

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Kelly Bryan) — Wed, 18 Nov 2020 23:37:11 +0000

Kelly helps Dermot remember why he drew James Joyce wearing red, killer heels. Topics include subtle Homeric correspondences, Dermot’s allegiance to Mr. Kipling’s cakes, Stéphane Mallarmé’s ‘L'après-midi d'un faune’ (The afternoon of a faun), more ire directed at that mocker Buck Mulligan, Stephen’s tiny feet, Stephen’s erstwhile friendship with Cranly, Oscar Wilde and Lord Alfred Douglas, John Francis Byrne, Cranly’s feelings for Stephen, Wilde’s love that dare not speak its name, themes of masculinity and male friendships, Senator David Norris on gay themes in Ulysses and Dedalus/Mulligan slash fiction.

On the Blog:

The Love That Dare Not Speak Its Name

Social Media:

Subscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:

The Word Known to All Men

What is that word known to all men?

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Kelly Bryan) — Thu, 5 Nov 2020 05:16:45 +0000

Kelly and Dermot take on a deceptively simple passage in “Proteus” as they attempt to answer that ultimate question - what is the word known to all men?

Topics covered in this episode include Stephen’s loneliness and why Joyce felt it was necessary for him to be totally alone, a mysterious discrepancy in Ulysses’ various editions, the 1984 Gabler edition of Ulysses, the universal Truth of a mother’s love, the universal Truth of death, how to escape from a troublesome duality, Rawhead and Bloodybones, the connection between love and death, and crab people.

No Berkelyan idealism, we promise!

**A note from the Department of Corrections: Kelly remarks that her 1990 edition of Ulysses contains the text as it was corrected and reset in 1963. That year should have been 1961. The responsible parties have been flogged.

Sweny's Patreon helps keep this marvelous Dublin landmark alive. Please subscribe!

On the Blog:

Social Media:

Subscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:

Decoding Dedalus: Signs on a White Field

The Virgin at Hodges Figgis' Window

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Kelly Bryan) — Wed, 21 Oct 2020 12:00:00 +0000

Dermot and Kelly carry on discussing “Proteus” in their flutiest voices!

Topics in this episode include: yet more discussion of the philosophy of the good bishop of Cloyne, George Berkeley, shovel hats, the fluttering of the veil between the material world and the metaphysical world, Dermot’s grudge against Bertrand Russell, how language obscures one’s perception of the material world, the heraldic system of hatching, Stephen playing with his stereoscopic vision, Stephen’s ideal woman, Hodges Figgis, and how Stephen has trouble handling rejection, even if it’s in his own mind.

Sweny's Patreon helps keep this marvelous Dublin landmark alive. Please subscribe!

On the Blog:

Social Media:

Subscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:

Decoding Dedalus: Signs on a White Field

A Reign of Uncouth Stars

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Kelly Bryan) — Wed, 7 Oct 2020 12:00:00 +0000

Form of my form! Who watches me here?

Kelly and Dermot wade into the final pages of “Proteus” to spend some time with old faves like Aristotle, Bishop Berkeley and Giordano Bruno. We dig deeper into Stephen Dedalus’ internal monologue while discussing Stephen’s concern for his future legacy, Stephen’s shadow, darkness shining in the brightness, the squid people of Procyon 5, the Delta of Cassiopeia, Roman augury, Giordano Bruno’s belief that the constellations were morally corrupt, and the written word as a Berkeleyan abstraction.

Sweny's Patreon helps keep this marvelous Dublin landmark alive. Please subscribe!

On the Blog:

Form of Forms

Social Media:

Subscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:

Decoding Dedalus: Pale Vampire

A Break for Jelly Donuts

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Kelly Bryan) — Wed, 23 Sep 2020 12:00:14 +0000

We're taking a week off! See you in October!

Omnis Caro Ad Te Veniet

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Kelly Bryan) — Wed, 9 Sep 2020 12:00:13 +0000

Kelly and Dermot discuss one of the most metal passages in all of Ulysses! You can find it at the end of “Proteus” beginning with “A side eye at my Hamlet hat.” Topics include Hamlet (so much Hamlet), Stephen’s creative spark, more resent for Buck Mulligan, more grief for Stephen’s mother, the shifting protean nature of language and tides, various Biblical allusions, Stephen’s poem, Percy Bysshe Shelley’s Hellas, Dermot’s grudge against Galileo, the philology of colors, did the sea really look like wine in ancient Greece?, the Annunciation and Mary’s connection to the sea, the requiem Mass death, vampires, ghouls, anti-semitism and homophobia in Bram Stoker’s Dracula, Joyce’s (possible) dig at Douglas Hyde’s Love Songs of Connacht, the music of the spheres and how libraries used to work.

Sweny's Patreon helps keep this marvelous Dublin landmark alive. Please subscribe!

On the Blog:

Social Media:

Subscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:

The Birth of Ulysses (w/ Phil Holden)

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Blooms & Barnacles) — Wed, 26 Aug 2020 12:00:11 +0000

We welcome Phil Holden to the podcast to talk about the early publishing of history of Ulysses. Phil is a collector of early Ulysses editions, so he shares his collection while telling the arduous tale of getting a book like Ulysses published in the first place, the role played by Sylvia Beach and Shakespeare and Company in publishing Ulysses, concerns about obscenity, pirate editions of Ulysses, books as art objects, the complications caused by Joyce’s early manuscripts, and who should play James Joyce in a movie version of this epic tale! This episode has a strong visual component, so consider watching the video version available below and on our YouTube channel.

Sweny's Patreon helps keep this marvelous Dublin landmark alive. Please subscribe!

Social Media:

Subscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:

Poetry in Ulysses: White Thy Fambles, Red Thy Gan

Media Mentioned in This Episode:

The Most Dangerous Book - Kevin Birmingham

Jim Norton audio book of Ulysses

“The Scandal of Ulysses” - John Kidd

O, My Dimber Wapping Dell

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Kelly Bryan) — Wed, 12 Aug 2020 19:07:57 +0000

White thy fambles, Red thy gan!

Wait, what?

Find out what this phrase and much more means in this episode as we continue our discussion of "Proteus," the third episode in James Joyce's Ulysses. Topics covered in this show include: what Stephen means by "red Egyptians," background on the Romani and Irish Travellers, Stephen's class insecurity, Terry Pratchett's Mort, strolling morts more generally, the distinct language of Romani and the Travellers, The Our Father in Shelta, the secret language of thieves in 17th c. England, strolling morts, The Rogue's Delight, she-fiends, bawd pimps, whores, an example of too-polite annotations, Stephen's morose delectation, Thomas Aquinas' nicknames, and Stephen's realization that all words are his comrades.

Sweny's Patreon helps keep this marvelous Dublin landmark alive. Please subscribe!

On the Blog:

Social Media:

Subscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:

Rothenburg's translation of the Rogue's Delight

Media Mentioned in This Episode:

The Canting Academy

Stuff You Should Know, How Gypsies Work

Haroun al-Raschid's Melons

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Kelly Bryan) — Wed, 29 Jul 2020 18:58:24 +0000

Kelly and Dermot take a look at Stephen Dedalus' prophetic dream in "Proteus." Topics discussed include James Joyce's fascination with dream analysis, Stephen's connection to the mysterious Akasic record, Dermot's own experience with slippery time, the location of the "street of harlots" in Dublin, how Leopold Bloom and Haroun al-Raschid are connected, Orientalism, almosting, and prolonged provocative melonsmellonous osculation.

You can hear our episode about translating Finnegans Wake into Japanese here.

Sweny's Patreon helps keep this marvelous Dublin landmark alive. Please subscribe!

On the Blog:

Decoding Dedalus: Haroun al-Raschid

In the Jakes with Mr. Bloom

Social Media:

Subscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:

Media Mentioned in this Episode:

Orientalism, Edward Said

Music:

Tatters

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Kelly Bryan) — Wed, 15 Jul 2020 12:00:07 +0000

Kelly and Dermot talk dogs, specifically Tatters, the dog encountered by Stephen on the strand at Sandymount. Topics include Joyce's belief that the dog is the most protean creature, Tatters' many forms on the seashore, cocklepickers then and now, seamorse, heraldry, Stephen's many phobias, reincarnation, sea gods, the ninth wave, pards, the Buddha-nature of a dog, cameos by Nicolas Cage and Peter Falk, Tatters as a muse, Tatters as a Zen master, Stephen's struggle with duality, Stephen's creative inspiration, urination, and why Dermot thinks the medievals are great (not stupid).

Sweny's Patreon helps keep this marvelous Dublin landmark alive. Please subscribe!

On the Blog:

Dogsbody

Social Media:

Subscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:

Decoding Dedalus: Pretenders

Paradise of Pretenders

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Kelly Bryan) — Wed, 1 Jul 2020 21:07:39 +0000

Sweny's Patreon helps keep this marvelous Dublin landmark alive. Please subscribe!

On the Blog:

Dogsbody

Social Media:

Subscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:

Bloomsday 2020 Supplement

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Kelly Bryan) — Mon, 22 Jun 2020 12:00:04 +0000

Enjoy a late submission for our Bloomsday episode! Check out the full episode here.

Bloomsday 2020

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Kelly Bryan) — Tue, 16 Jun 2020 12:00:16 +0000

Sweny's Patreon helps keep this marvelous Dublin landmark alive. Please subscribe!

Social Media:

Subscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:

Many thanks to our readers:

Richard Feeney, "Telemachus," 7:10

Jane Davis, "Telemachus," 12:50

Andrew Basquille, "Nestor," 17:47

Steve Carey, "Calypso," 25:42

Bill Kennedy, "Calypso," 31:48

PJ Murphy, "The Lotus Eaters," 39:47

Shelby Haber, Krystal Bressmer Cam Edwards, and Vidu Morugama, "Hades," 44:39

Will Humphries, "Hades," 50:08

Swati Joshi, "Aeolus," 55:34

Russell Raphael, "Aeolus," 01:01:15

Conor Farnan, "Lestrygonians," 01:08:53

Tom O'Leary, "Lestrygonians," 01:16:00

Phil Holden, "Lestrygonians," 01:21:15

Stephen, "Sirens," 01:27:27

Sela Ellan Underwood, "Sirens," 01:31:53

Michael O'Shea, "Cyclops," 01:40:13

Jinan Ashraf, "Cyclops," 01:47:42

Jack Walsh, "Cyclops," 01:54:24

Chris Lewis, The King of Ithaca, 02:00:29

Joe Gallagher, "Nausicaa," 02:05:24

Paul Ringo, "Nausicaa," 02:11:41

Talia Abu, "Oxen of the Sun," 02:19:06

David Monelly, "Oxen of the Sun," 02:23:37

Mark Segall, "Circe," 02:27:49

Colm Faulkner, "Circe," 02:35:19

Brendan Riley, "Eumaeus," 02:40:29

Kevin O'Doherty, "Ithaca," 02:46:28

Kenji Hayakawa, "Ithaca," 02:49:51

Ellen Murphy, "Ithaca," 02:57:00

Janet Lynch, "Penelope," 02:59:40

Siobhán McCann, "Penelope," 03:07:03

Music:

Decoding Dedalus: Galleys of the Lochlanns

Galleys of the Lochlanns

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Kelly Bryan) — Wed, 3 Jun 2020 12:00:11 +0000

Kelly and Dermot set sail for the time of Vikings and jerkiness dwarfs! They discuss the differences of similarly-shaped seafaring vessels, Lochlanns, Fr. Dineen's Irish dictionary, the intersection of Viking and Celtic cultures in Ireland, torcs, tomahawk, the horrors of 14th c. Dublin, famine, plague and slaughters, the story of the time a pod of cetaceans washed ashore in medieval Dublin, the story of the time the Liffey froze over and people grilled on top of it, Stephen as a changeling, Stephen momentarily becoming displaced in time, and Stephen's attempt to construct an Irish identity.

Steve Carey of Bloomsday in Melbourne drops by to chat about how to put on a Bloomsday theatre production in the time of Covid.

**Now accepting submissions for our Bloomsday 2020 episode. **

Sweny's Patreon helps keep this marvelous Dublin landmark alive. Please subscribe!

On the Blog:

Bloomsday in Melbourne:

Bloomsday in Melbourne - the official site for Bloomsday in Melbourne

Bloomsday 2020 - Facebook group where Bloomsday in Melbourne's performances will be broadcast

Social Media:

Subscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:

Music:

Tommy Makem - The Minstrel Boy/ Let Erin Remember

Panthersahib and Pointer

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Kelly Bryan) — Wed, 20 May 2020 12:00:17 +0000

**Now accepting submissions for our Bloomsday 2020 episode. **

Sweny's Patreon helps keep this marvelous Dublin landmark alive. Please subscribe!

On the Blog:

Dogsbody

Form of Forms

Social Media:

Subscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:

Music:

Decoding Dedalus: Wild Geese

Under the Walls of Clerkenwell

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Blooms & Barnacles) — Wed, 6 May 2020 12:00:00 +0000

Dermot and Kelly take on some of the history behind the tale of Irish exile Kevin Egan. This episode's discussion covers the story of the 1867 Clerkenwell explosion, what that has to do with Kevin Egan, Egan's relationship to his wife and son, Dermot's relationship to Tayto crisps, Egan's memories of Kilkenny, the Berkeleyan quality of memory, more father-son angst, and a cautionary tale for young Stephen.

Sweny's Patreon helps keep this marvelous Dublin landmark alive. Please subscribe!

On the Blog:

Social Media:

Subscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:

Media Mentioned in this Episode:

L'Assomoir - Emile Zola

Further Reading:

Anghinetti, P. (1982). Berkeley's Influence on Joyce. James Joyce Quarterly, 19(3), 315-329. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/25476446

Ellmann, R. (1959). James Joyce. New York: Oxford University Press.

Eugene Davis & the Casey brothers. (n.d.) Retrieved from http://www.irishmeninparis.org/revolutionaries/eugene-davis-the-casey-brothers

“Irish Agitators in Paris,” (1884, April 22). The New York Times. Retrieved from https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1884/04/22/103614112.pdf

“The Irish Colony in Paris,”(1884, June 11). The Brisbane Courier. Retrieved from https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/3430959

Zingg, G. (2013). Is there Hiberno-English on them? Hiberno-English in modern literature: the use of dialect in Joyce, O’Brien, Shaw and Friel. Bern: Peter Lang AG.

Music:

The Boys of Kilkenny - Reg Keating

Froggreen Wormwood

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Blooms & Barnacles) — Wed, 22 Apr 2020 12:00:00 +0000

Images of early morning Paris through the ineluctable modality of Stephen Dedalus' memory, smells of incense and absinthe. We discuss Stephen's life as a starving artist (literally), Kevin Egan and his unwilling exile in Paris, Egan's real life counterpart, New York Times write-ups of duels in the 19th century, Irish nationalist groups of the 19th century, the proper way to drink absinthe, dalcassians and Arthur Griffith, Maud Gonne, Édouard Drumont v. Léo Taxil, and the pitfalls of attempting to make Ireland more like continental Europe.

Sweny's Patreon helps keep this marvelous Dublin landmark alive. Please subscribe!

On the Blog:

Decoding Dedalus: Latin Quarter Hat

Decoding Dedalus: Wild Geese

La Vie de Léo Taxil

Maud Gonne

Social Media:

Subscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:

Il est cinq heures, Paris, s'éveille - Jacques Dutronc

Media Mentioned in this Episode:

"Get Drunk", Charles Baudelaire (in French and English)

How to make a classic Absinthe Drip - DrinkSkool Cocktails

Further Reading:

Earle, D. (2003). "Green Eyes, I See You. Fang, I Feel": The Symbol of Absinthe in "Ulysses". James Joyce Quarterly,40(4), 691-709. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/25477989

Ellmann, R. (1959). James Joyce. New York: Oxford University Press.

Eugene Davis & the Casey brothers. (n.d.) Retrieved from http://www.irishmeninparis.org/revolutionaries/eugene-davis-the-casey-brothers

Gifford, D., & Seidman, R. J. (1988). Ulysses annotated: Notes for James Joyce's Ulysses. Berkeley: University of California Press.

Gopnik, A. (2009, Sept. 21). Trial of the Century. The New Yorker. Retrieved from https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2009/09/28/trial-of-the-century

Haverty, A. (2016, Dec. 10). The adulterous muse – Maud Gonne, Lucien Millevoye and WB Yeats review. The Irish Times. Retrieved from https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/books/the-adulterous-muse-maud-gonne-lucien-millevoye-and-wb-yeats-review-1.2889474

Heininger, J. (1986). Stephen Dedalus in Paris: Tracing the Fall of Icarus in "Ulysses". James Joyce Quarterly, 23(4), 435-446. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/25476758

“Irish Agitators in Paris,” (1884, April 22). The New York Times. Retrieved from https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1884/04/22/103614112.pdf

“The Irish Colony in Paris,”(1884, June 11). The Brisbane Courier. Retrieved from https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/3430959

Joyce, S. (1958). My brother’s keeper: James Joyce’s early years. New York: The Viking Press.

Magalaner, M. (1956). Labyrinthine motif: James Joyce and Leo Taxil. Modern Fiction Studies, 2(4), 167-182. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/26273108

McNally, F. (2018, Oct. 4). Bones of contention - Why the remains of James Joyce are still in exile. The Irish Times. Retrieved from https://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/bones-of-contention-why-the-remains-of-james-joyce-are-still-in-exile-1.3651912

O’Connor, U. (2011, Jan. 30) Joyce should join Yeats in the Irish soil. The Irish Independent. Retrieved from https://www.independent.ie/entertainment/books/joyce-should-join-yeats-in-the-irish-soil-26619115.html

Reizbaum, M. (1999). James Joyce’s Judaic Other. Stanford: Stanford University Press. Retrieved from https://tinyurl.com/y4sxxtlv

Schofield, H. (2015, Jan. 31). Ireland’s heroine who had sex in her baby’s tomb. BBC News. Retrieved from https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-31064648

Music:

Boul' Mich'

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Blooms & Barnacles) — Wed, 8 Apr 2020 12:00:00 +0000

Bon soir, mes amis, et bienvenue a Blooms et Barnacles! Kelly and Dermot discuss Joyce's disastrous sojourn to Paris as a youth and its parallels to Stephen Dedalus' recollections of his time in Paris. Discussion topics include the fin de siècle fashion of French symbolist poets, what exactly mou en civet is, Stephen feeling down and out in a French post office, the mockery of saints in Heaven, Stephen's collection of French pornography, and whether it was Stephen's mother or his nother mentioned in that fateful telegram.

Sweny's Patreon helps keep this marvelous Dublin landmark alive. Please subscribe!

On the Blog:

Decoding Dedalus: Latin Quarter Hat

Ulysses CCD: St. Columbanus

Social Media:

Subscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:

Further Reading

Bowen, Z. (1974). Musical allusions in the works of James Joyce: Early poetry through Ulysses. Albany: State University of New York Press.

Earle, D. (2003). "Green Eyes, I See You. Fang, I Feel": The Symbol of Absinthe in "Ulysses". James Joyce Quarterly,40(4), 691-709. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/25477989

Ellmann, R. (1959). James Joyce. New York: Oxford University Press.

Gifford, D., & Seidman, R. J. (1988). Ulysses annotated: Notes for James Joyce's Ulysses. Berkeley: University of California Press.

Gilbert, S. (1955). James Joyce’s Ulysses: a study. New York: Vintage Books.

Heininger, J. (1986). Stephen Dedalus in Paris: Tracing the Fall of Icarus in "Ulysses". James Joyce Quarterly, 23(4), 435-446. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/25476758

Joyce, S. (1958). My brother’s keeper: James Joyce’s early years. New York: The Viking Press.

McCourt, J. (2007). Joyce’s Well of Saints. Joyce Studies Annual. 2007, 109-133. Retrieved from https://www.academia.edu/1818991/Joyces_Well_of_the_Saints

Music

Mat Hanigan's Aunt - Des Keogh

C'est le pigeon, Joseph.

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Blooms & Barnacles) — Wed, 25 Mar 2020 12:00:00 +0000

Stephen Dedalus learns the value of gentlemanly blasphemy in this episode of Blooms & Barnacles. Our hero evades the nets of his oppressors while recalling a conversation with a friend in Paris. Topics include the changing face of Ringsend, the Pigeonhouse, Stephen's epiphanies and the Epiphany, Dermot speaking French, what Jules Michelet doesn't know about women, absinthe, the elaborate blasphemies of Leo Taxil's pornographic pope period, Baphomet, the freemasons, and the greatest trick ever played on the Catholic Church (that might be overstating it, but it's a fun story).

Sweny's Patreon helps keep this marvelous Dublin landmark alive. Please subscribe!

On the Blog:

La Vie de Léo Taxil

Poetry in Ulysses: The Ballad of Joking Jesus

Social Media:

Subscribe to Blooms and Barnacles:

Jack Chick tract on freemasonry

Media discussed in this episode:

Leo Taxil's Confession

La Vie de Jésus (complete text)

Catholic Encyclopedia "Imposters"

Hail Satan? documentary trailer

Transcendental Magic Its Doctrine and Ritual by Eliphas Levi

Further Reading:
de Hoyos, A., & Morris, S.B. (2010). Is it true what they say about freemasonery? New York: M. Evans. Retrieved from https://tinyurl.com/y43m54ml

Gifford, D., & Seidman, R. J. (1988). Ulysses annotated: Notes for James Joyce's Ulysses. Berkeley: University of California Press. Retrieved from https://tinyurl.com/vy6j4tk

Greer, J.M. (2006). Palladian Order. In The Element Encyclopedia of Secret Societies. New York: Harper Element.

Magalaner, M. (1956). Labyrinthine motif: James Joyce and Leo Taxil. Modern Fiction Studies, 2(4), 167-182. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/26273108

Image source for chalked door

Music

James Joyce's Poetic Rage

Pico della Mirandola like.

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Blooms & Barnacles) — Thu, 12 Mar 2020 03:27:00 +0000

This episode of Blooms & Barnacles takes an esoteric twist as we continue deeper into "Proteus", Ulysses' third episode. Topics include: why Dermot is not impressed with the Library of Alexandria, the length of a mahamanvantara, what the heck a mahamanvantara is, Joyce's youthful rage put into poetry, Joyce's youthful interest in theosophy, Pico della Mirandola's desire to speak to angels, Renaissance magic, hermeticism, , correspondences in Ulysses, and why Dermot thinks Neil de Grasse Tyson is wrong.

Sweny's Patreon helps keep this marvelous Dublin landmark afloat. Please subscribe!

On the Blog:

Mahamanvantara

Social Media:

Subscribe to Blooms and Barnacles:

"The Holy Office", James Joyce

Media recommended in this episode:

Giordano Bruno and the Hermetic Tradition, Frances Yates

"Giovanni Pico della Mirandola" on the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy

The Corpus Hermeticum

On the theosophists' influence on cremation: https://www.theosophical.org/publications/quest-magazine/1684-up-in-smoke-theosophy-and-the-revival-of-cremation

"Pico della Mirandola" by Walter Pater

Further Reading:

Carver, C. (1978). James Joyce and the Theory of Magic. James Joyce Quarterly, 15(3), 201-214. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/25476132

Ellmann, R. (1959). James Joyce. New York: Oxford University Press.

Gifford, D., & Seidman, R. J. (1988). Ulysses annotated: Notes for James Joyce's Ulysses. Berkeley: University of California Press.

Gilbert, S. (1955). James Joyce’s Ulysses: a study. New York: Vintage Books.

Joyce, S. (1958). My brother’s keeper: James Joyce’s early years. New York: The Viking Press.

Tindall, W.Y. (1954). James Joyce and the Hermetic Tradition. Journal of the History of Ideas, 15(1), p. 23-39. Retrieved from https://tinyurl.com/y3jt7uwp

"Theosophy." Encyclopedia of Occultism and Parapsychology. Retrieved April 13, 2019 from Encyclopedia.com: https://www.encyclopedia.com/science/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/theosophy

Music

“Save the Last Word” Press Release

Who is this Dan Occam fellow, anyway?

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Blooms & Barnacles) — Thu, 27 Feb 2020 03:48:00 +0000

Dermot and Kelly tickle your brain with Stephen Dedalus' thoughts on the Eucharist, William of Occam, hypostasis, consubstantiation, transubstantiation... we've got it all! Other major philosophical queries discussed include: How can so much bread and wine all become Christ's body and blood. Does Stephen really understand hypostasis.When does soup become soup? Is it immoral to impersonate a priest as long as you don't hear someone's confession?

Sweny's Patreon helps keep this marvelous Dublin landmark afloat. Please subscribe!

Social Media:

Subscribe to Blooms and Barnacles:

Further Reading:

Gifford, D., & Seidman, R. J. (1988). Ulysses annotated: Notes for James Joyce's Ulysses. Berkeley: University of California Press. Retrieved from https://tinyurl.com/vy6j4tk

Kimball, J. (1973). The Hypostasis in "Ulysses". James Joyce Quarterly, 10(4), 422-438. Retrieved February 20, 2020, from www.jstor.org/stable/25487079

Lernout, G. (2004-2005). A horrible example of free thought: God in Stephen’s Ulysses. Papers on Joyce. 10/11, 105-42. Retrieved from http://www.siff.us.es/iberjoyce/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/11-Lernout-Proofed-and-Set.pdf

Pace, E. (1910). Hypostatic Union. In The Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. Retrieved February 20, 2020 from New Advent: http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07610b.htm

Thornton, W. (1968). Allusions in Ulysses: An annotated list. Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press. Retrieved from https://tinyurl.com/ucwq3x7

Turner, W. (1912). William of Ockham. In The Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. Retrieved February 20, 2020 from New Advent: http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15636a.htm

Music

The Complex Life of Lucia Joyce- (w/Linus Ignatius & Llewie Nuñez)

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Blooms & Barnacles) — Thu, 13 Feb 2020 04:43:00 +0000

Linus Ignatius and Llewie Nuñez starred in the play Lucia Mad as James and Lucia Joyce, respectively, back in their university days. They drop by the podcast for a deep dive into the complex and tragic life of James Joyce's daughter Lucia. We discuss how they prepared to portray the Joyces on-stage, Lucia's genius as an artist, her struggle with mental illness, the stigma she faced within the Joyce family, her influence on Finnegans Wake and the relationship between Joyce and his daughter.

Sweny's Patreon helps keep this marvelous Dublin landmark alive. Please subscribe!

Blooms & Barnacles' Social Media:

https://www.instagram.com/linusignatius

Follow Linus and Llewie on Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/llwwllyynn

Linus's film website, the Elliott Collective:

https://www.elliottcollective.com

Subscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:

Music

The Hundredheaded Rabble

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Blooms & Barnacles) — Thu, 30 Jan 2020 03:06:00 +0000

Join Kelly and Dermot for a story about James Joyce's youthful rebellion against the literary establishment of Dublin, his obsession with the apocalyptic predictions of a 12th century monk, a tale of psychic horror by W.B. Yeats, Jonathan Swift and Dublin's oldest public library. It's a jam-packed episode!

Bonus: Dermot interviews Kelly about completing her blog series about "Proteus." Check out those blog posts here.

Double Bonus: The difference between Elisha and Elijah from Chuck Knows Church.

Sweny's Patreon helps keep this marvelous Dublin landmark afloat. Please subscribe!

On the blog:

Houses of Decay

Social Media:

Subscribe to Blooms and Barnacles:

Texts Mentioned in this Episode:

The Tables of the Law by W.B. Yeats

The Day of the Rabblement by James Joyce

Further Reading:

Ellmann, R. (1959). James Joyce. New York: Oxford University Press.

Fargnoli, A.N., & Gillespie M.P. (1995). James Joyce A to Z: The essential reference to his life and writings. New York: Oxford University Press. Retrieved from http://tinyurl.com/y4l26tc7

Gilbert, S. (1955). James Joyce’s Ulysses: a study. New York: Vintage Books.

Gifford, D., & Seidman, R. J. (1988). Ulysses annotated: Notes for James Joyce's Ulysses. Berkeley: University of California Press.

Gogarty, O. (1948). Mourning became Mrs. Spendlove and other portraits grave and gay. New York: Creative Age Press.

Greer, J.M. History’s Arrow. The Archdruid Report. Retrieved from http://archdruidmirror.blogspot.com/2017/06/historys-arrow.html

Hart, M. F. (1994). The Sign of Contradiction: Joyce, Yeats and ‘The Tables of Law.’ Colby Quarterly, 30 (4), 237-243. Retrieved from https://digitalcommons.colby.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://www.google.com/&httpsredir=1&article=3034&context=cq.

Joyce, J. (2018). Critical writings. Mineola, New York: Dover Publications.

Joyce, S. (1958). My brother’s keeper: James Joyce’s early years. New York: The Viking Press.

McGinn, B. Apocalypticism explained: Joachim of Fiore. Frontline. Retrieved from https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/apocalypse/explanation/joachim.html

Music

Translating Finnegans Wake into Japanese (w/ Kenji Hayakawa)

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Blooms & Barnacles) — Wed, 15 Jan 2020 13:00:00 +0000

Kelly and Dermot are joined by translator Kenji Hayakawa to discuss the gargantuan task of translating Finnegans Wake into Japanese. We discuss Naoki Yanase's translation of Joyce's classic novel into Japanese, creating special software Japanese characters to tackle Joyce's various coinages, why Japanese is an ideal language in which to read Finnegans Wake, why only translators truly understand Finnegans Wake, the sadism of Finnegans Wake, the influence of Harriet Shaw Weaver, and how Finnegans Wake is the antidote to book club hierarchies.

No need to speak Japanese or have read Finnegans Wake!

Sweny's Patreon helps keep this marvelous Dublin landmark alive. Please subscribe!

Blooms & Barnacles' Social Media:

Follow Kenji Hayakawa on Twitter

Subscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:

iTunes | Google Play Music| Stitcher

Further Reading

For more information on Yanase's Japanese translation of Finnegans Wake: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/13844245._Yanase_Naoki

For images of the Japanese text, please visit our website.

Music

Decoding Dedalus: A Dedalus Never Pays His Debts

Nuncle Richie

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Blooms & Barnacles) — Wed, 1 Jan 2020 23:44:00 +0000

Stephen contemplates the horror of a visit to his Aunt Sara and Uncle Richie's house. We discuss parallels in this scene with Joyce's real life aunt and uncle, why Joyce's Aunt Josephine gave away her first edition of Ulysses, the intractable Dubliner/culchie divide, middle class pretension, Hiberno-English, Wilde's Requiescat, and the difficulty of parsing conversations written in Joyce's signature stream of consciousness.

Sweny's Patreon helps keep this marvelous Dublin landmark alive. Please subscribe!

On the blog:

Social Media:

Subscribe to Blooms and Barnacles:

Further Reading

Asalas, R. Lithia water fountain. Atlas Obscura. Retrieved from https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/lithia-water-fountain

Ellmann, R. (1959). James Joyce. New York: Oxford University Press.

Fargnoli, A.N., & Gillespie M.P. (1995). James Joyce A to Z: The essential reference to his life and writings. New York: Oxford University Press. Retrieved from http://tinyurl.com/y4l26tc7

Gifford, D., & Seidman, R. J. (1988). Ulysses annotated: Notes for James Joyce's Ulysses. Berkeley: University of California Press.

Kingston, A. (2017, Feb 15). Oscar Wilde and the sister’s death that haunted his life and work. The Irish Times. Retrieved from https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/books/oscar-wilde-and-the-sister-s-death-that-haunted-his-life-and-work-1.2976363

O Muirithe, D. (1997, Jan 18). The words we use. The Irish Times. Retrieved from https://www.irishtimes.com/news/the-words-we-use-1.22981

Music

James Joyce Tower & Museum

James Joyce Tower and Museum

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Blooms & Barnacles) — Sat, 21 Dec 2019 20:46:00 +0000

Dermot and Kelly get an insider's view of the Sandycove Martello Tower - the Omphalos of Dublin itself! Maggie Fitzgerald, James Holohan and Andrew Basquille give Blooms & Barnacles a tour of all the museum's nooks and crannies. Discussions include the Joycean historical items on display in the museum, the history of the tower, what really went down the night Joyce stormed out of the museum, how to get a milk can up a ladder, the work of maintaining a Joycean landmark, an original song by Andrew, and why exactly a museum in Dublin is flying the Munster flag.

A special thanks to Michael Steen.

Sweny's Patreon helps keep a marvelous Dublin landmark alive. Please subscribe!

Visit Sandycove!

Fitzgerald's of Sandycove - cosy pub with Ulysses-themed stained glass and the world's largest Finnegans Wake reading club

Blooms & Barnacles Social Media:

Subscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:

Music

Calm Seashore - No Copyright Sound Effects - Audio Library

Contransmagnificandjewbangtantiality

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Blooms & Barnacles) — Wed, 4 Dec 2019 13:00:00 +0000

Let's have fun with consubstantiality! Kelly and Dermot untangle Stephen Dedalus' thoughts on the dual nature of God the Father and God the Son, the Nicene Creed, the difference between being made and being begotten, the death of Arius, seahorses, a shocking fact about the Star Wars cantina and an even more shocking fact about the symbolism of doves.

Sweny's Patreon helps keep this marvelous Dublin landmark afloat. Please subscribe!

On the blog:

Decoding Dedalus: Omphalos

Decoding Dedalus: Heresies in "Telemachus"

Social Media:

Subscribe to Blooms and Barnacles:

Further Reading

Lang, F. (1993). Ulysses and the Irish God. London and Toronto: Associated University Presses. Retrieved from https://tinyurl.com/y3k5kxnq

Muehlberger, E. (2015, May 1). The legend of Arius’ death: imagination, space and filth in late ancient historiography. Past & Present, 227(1), 3–29. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1093/pastj/gtu042

The Trieste Notebook

Music

Sweny's Pharmacy Revisited (w/ P.J. Murphy & Jack Walsh)

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Blooms & Barnacles) — Wed, 20 Nov 2019 13:00:00 +0000

Blooms & Barnacles catches up with P.J. Murphy and Jack Walsh of Sweny's Pharmacy in Dublin, the location where Leopold Bloom bought his lemon soap in Ulysses. In addition to P.J. and Jack, we had the chance to talk to many friend's of Sweny's from all over the world! Topics include the future of Sweny's Pharmacy, why you should visit Sweny's on Christmas, the repatriation of Joyce's remains to Ireland, the purchase of "The Dead" house, a reading from Ulysses in Turkish, the international appeal of Ulysses, the connection of certain Native American tribes to Ireland, songs, poetry, and the proper way to put jam on a scone.

Many thanks to P.J. Murphy, Jack Walsh, Eoin Ahern, Duncan Sheppard, Fulvio Rogantin, Joe Darcy, Jordan Lukey, Berk Tosun, and Thomas Cary.

Sweny's on the Internet:

Website | Facebook | Twitter

Sweny's Patreon helps keep this marvelous Dublin landmark afloat. Please subscribe!

Looking for a top-notch tour guide in Dublin?

Joe Darcy

Fulvio Rogantin, Dubliniamo (in Italian)

Jack Walsh

Blooms & Barnacles Social Media:

Subscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:

Music

Decoding Dedalus: Omphalos

Gaze in Your Omphalos

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Blooms & Barnacles) — Wed, 6 Nov 2019 13:00:00 +0000

In this installment of Blooms & Barnacles, Kelly and Dermot engage in some good, old-fashioned navel gazing. Discussion topics include working class life in Edwardian Dublin, the poetry of Algernon Swinburne the perils of childbirth during the same period, whether Adam and Eve had bellybuttons, and why Kelly thinks people in antiquity had predominantly outie bellybuttons. They also get to the bottom of what exactly the heck an omphalos is and why everyone keeps talking about them.

Sweny's Patreon helps keep this marvelous Dublin landmark afloat. Please subscribe!

On the blog:

Social Media:

Subscribe to Blooms and Barnacles:

Algernon Swinburne, "The Triumph of Time"

Media Mentioned in this Episode:

Hermann Hesse, Siddhartha

On James Plunkett's Strumpet City

Further Reading:

Barry, D. (2017, Oct. 28). The lost children of Tuam. The New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/10/28/world/europe/tuam-ireland-babies-children.html

Burgess, A. (1968). ReJoyce. New York: W.W. Norton & Co.

Gifford, D., & Seidman, R. J. (1988). Ulysses annotated: Notes for James Joyce's Ulysses. Berkeley: University of California Press.

Gilbert, S. (1955). James Joyce’s Ulysses: a study. New York: Vintage Books.

Lang, F. (1993). Ulysses and the Irish God. London and Toronto: Associated University Presses. Retrieved from https://tinyurl.com/y3k5kxnq

O’Loughlin, E. (2018, Jun 6). These women survived Ireland’s Magdalene Laundries. They’re ready to talk. The New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/06/world/europe/magdalene-laundry-reunion-ireland.html

Switek, B. (2009, Nov 10), P.H. Gosse’s failure to untie the geological knot. Wired. Retrieved from https://www.wired.com/2009/11/p-h-gosses-failure-to-untie-the-geological-knot/

Music

Dermot O'Connor

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Blooms & Barnacles) — Wed, 23 Oct 2019 12:00:00 +0000

Ineluctable modality of the animated! Get to know your favorite Irish host of Blooms and Barnacles - Dermot O Connor. Kelly and Dermot talk about his work as the illustrator of the Blooms and Barnacles blog, how to illustrate a blog about Ulysses when you've never read Ulysses, artistic influences and inspirations, working for Don Bluth and Disney, what every American should know about Ireland and what every Irish person should know about America. Find Dermot's art and animation at www.angryanimator.com

Sweny's Patreon is almost to its goal, but they can still use your help. Please subscribe!

Social Media:

Subscribe to Blooms and Barnacles:

Our theme is:

Decoding Dedalus: Ineluctable Modalities

Nacheinander and Nebeneinander

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Blooms & Barnacles) — Thu, 10 Oct 2019 00:43:00 +0000

Real talk: why are there no seagulls on Sandymount Strand on Bloomsday? Have we stumbled onto a historical seagull-based conspiracy? Stay tuned to find out! Additionally, we'll also continue discussing how Stephen's walk on the beach is influenced by Berkeleyan idealism, Stephen's perception of space and time, how blind people perceive the world and the Demiurge.

Sweny's Patreon helps keep this marvelous Dublin landmark afloat. Please subscribe!

On the blog:

Social Media:

Subscribe to Blooms and Barnacles:

Media Mentioned in this Episode:

Daniel Kish was featured on This American Life, not Radiolab. Still worth a listen once you've finished our podcast. - https://www.thisamericanlife.org/544/batman/act-one

The Book of Los by William Blake is available online. My bad! There is only one physical copy, though, and it's owned by the British Museum - https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Book_of_Los

Download a copy Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions for free. - http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/201

Modernist Maundering's take on "Protean Prosody" - http://modernistmaundering.blogspot.com/2015/03/protean-prosody.html

Further Reading:

Anghinetti, P. (1982). Berkeley's Influence on Joyce. James Joyce Quarterly,19(3), 315-329. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/25476446

Atura, A. & Dionne, L. Proteus - Modernism Lab. Retrieved from https://modernism.coursepress.yale.edu/proteus/

Booth, C. (2015, Mar 20). Protean Prosody. Modernist Maundering. Retrieved from http://modernistmaundering.blogspot.com/2015/03/protean-prosody.html

Burgess, A. (1968). ReJoyce. New York: W.W. Norton & Co.

D’Arcy, A.M. (2014). Dindsenchas, Mr Deasy and the Nightmare of Partition in Ulysses. Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy, 114C, 1-31. Retrieved from http://www.academia.edu/3524058/Dindsenchas_Mr_Deasy_and_the_Nightmare_of_Partition_in_Ulysses_Proceedings_of_the_Royal_Irish_Academy_114C_2014_1-31

Gifford, D., & Seidman, R. J. (1988). Ulysses annotated: Notes for James Joyce's Ulysses. Berkeley: University of California Press.

Gilbert, S. (1955). James Joyce’s Ulysses: a study. New York: Vintage Books.

Tarnas, R. (1991). The passion of the Western mind: understanding the ideas that have shaped our world. New York: Ballantine.

Music

Decoding Dedalus: Ineluctable Modalities

Ineluctable Modalities

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Blooms & Barnacles) — Wed, 25 Sep 2019 12:00:00 +0000

Ineluctable modality of the podcast! A discussion of the first paragraph of "Proteus," in which Kelly and Dermot try to make sense of Stephen's untethered inner monologue. We discuss Aristotle's theory of vision, Bishop George's Berkeley's mistrust of sense perception, an interpretation of a famous meme, who Jakob Boehme was and what he meant by "signature of all things." This episode will leave you with a pleasing sense of superiority over your friends.

Sweny's Patreon helps keep this marvelous Dublin landmark afloat. Please subscribe!

On the blog:

Social Media:

Subscribe to Blooms and Barnacles:

Further Reading:

Anghinetti, P. (1982). Berkeley's Influence on Joyce. James Joyce Quarterly,19(3), 315-329. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/25476446

Atura, A. & Dionne, L. Proteus - Modernism Lab. Retrieved from https://modernism.coursepress.yale.edu/proteus/

Burgess, A. (1968). ReJoyce. New York: W.W. Norton & Co.

Flood, A. (2013, Apr 11). Irish bank points to other side of misquoted James Joyce coin. The Guardian. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/apr/11/irish-bank-james-joyce-coin .

Gifford, D., & Seidman, R. J. (1988). Ulysses annotated: Notes for James Joyce's Ulysses. Berkeley: University of California Press.

Gilbert, S. (1955). James Joyce’s Ulysses: a study. New York: Vintage Books.

Kalederon, M.E. (2011). Aristotle on Transparency. Retrieved from https://www.academia.edu/30310339/Aristotle_on_Transparency

Livorni, E. (1999). "Ineluctable Modality of the Visible": Diaphane in the "Proteus" Episode. James Joyce Quarterly,36(2), 127-169. Retrieved from https://www.academia.edu/330177/_Ineluctable_Modality_of_the_Visible_Diaphane_In_the_Proteus_Episode

Tarnas, R. (1991). The passion of the Western mind: understanding the ideas that have shaped our world. New York: Ballantine.

Music

Ulysses & The Odyssey: Proteus

Proteus

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Blooms & Barnacles) — Wed, 11 Sep 2019 12:00:00 +0000

The time has come for Blooms & Barnacles to tackle Ulysses' third episode - "Proteus"! This is Ulysses' first "difficult" episode - jam-packed with multiple languages and obscure references. This week's podcast gives an overview of many of the themes found in "Proteus," including its connection to The Odyssey, the influence of esoteric doctrines on the text and Joyce's love of writing in multiple languages. With guest star, Emma the cat.

Sweny's Patreon helps keep this marvelous Dublin landmark afloat. Please subscribe!

On the blog:

Social Media:

Subscribe to Blooms and Barnacles:

Further Reading & Listening:

Atura, A. & Dionne, L. Proteus - Modernism Lab. Retrieved from https://modernism.coursepress.yale.edu/proteus/

Burgess, A. (1968). ReJoyce. New York: W.W. Norton & Co.

Gifford, D., & Seidman, R. J. (1988). Ulysses annotated: Notes for James Joyce's Ulysses. Berkeley: University of California Press.

Gilbert, S. (1955). James Joyce’s Ulysses: a study. New York: Vintage Books.

Homer, translated by Palmer., G.H. (1912). The Odyssey. Mineola, New York: Dover Publications.

Music

The Women of Ulysses: Mr. Deasy's Perfidious Women

A Shout in the Street

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Blooms & Barnacles) — Mon, 26 Aug 2019 01:49:00 +0000

Blooms and Barnacles' series on Mr. Deasy and "Nestor" comes to a close with a discussion of the old headmaster's biased views of women's negative impact on history. The relative culpability of four woman accused of causing history's great evils is explored, along with what exactly Stephen means when he refers to God as a "shout in the street."

Please consider contributing my friend Nik's Go Fund Me to help cover his expenses for a serious head injury. Any contribution large or small is appreciated.

Sweny's Patreon helps keep this marvelous Dublin landmark afloat. Please subscribe!

On the blog:

Social Media:

Subscribe to Blooms and Barnacles:

Further Reading & Listening:

Dwyer, F. (2014, May 29). (1156-1166) The Norman Invasion Part I. The Irish History Podcast [Audio podcast].

Gifford, D., & Seidman, R. J. (1988). Ulysses annotated: Notes for James Joyce's Ulysses. Berkeley: University of California Press.

Haywood, J. (2016, September 5). Was Helen really to blame for the Trojan War - or just a scapegoat? The Conversation. Retrieved from http://theconversation.com/was-helen-really-to-blame-for-the-trojan-war-or-just-a-scapegoat-64456

Wilson, A. N. (2004). The Victorians. New York: W. W. Norton and Co.

Music

The Nightmare of History

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Blooms & Barnacles) — Thu, 15 Aug 2019 04:41:00 +0000

Kelly and Dermot deconstruct the nightmare of history shared by the Irish and the Jews alike. We further explore the intricacies of Mr. Deasy's bigotry and what it tells us about what life was like in 1900's Dublin. Other topics covered include one possible source of Joyce's hatred of Gogarty, the correlation of antisemitism and nationalism and the legend of the Wandering Jew and its influence on Ulysses.

Sweny's Patreon helps keep this marvelous Dublin landmark afloat. Please subscribe!

On the blog:

Never Let Them In

Social Media:

Subscribe to Blooms and Barnacles:

Further Reading:

Breathnach, R. (2014, Jun 28). Shalom agus sláinte. News Talk. Retrieved from https://www.newstalk.com/Shalom-agus-slinte

Burgess, A. (1968). ReJoyce. New York: W.W. Norton & Co.

Callanan, F. (1998, May 16). ‘We never let them in.’ The Irish Times. Retrieved from https://www.irishtimes.com/news/we-never-let-them-in-1.153649

Davis, B. (2017, Jan 14). Jewish life by the Liffey: a look at the Jewish community in Ireland. The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved from https://www.jpost.com/Magazine/Jewish-life-by-the-Liffey-474803

Gifford, D., & Seidman, R. J. (1988). Ulysses annotated: Notes for James Joyce's Ulysses. Berkeley: University of California Press.

Goldberg, G. (1982). "Ireland Is the Only Country...": Joyce and the Jewish Dimension. The Crane Bag, 6(1), 5-12. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/30059524

Wandering Jew. (n.d.). In Encyclopædia Britannica online. Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/topic/wandering-Jew

Music

Who was the Real Mr. Deasy?

Perviest Breakfast

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Blooms & Barnacles) — Thu, 1 Aug 2019 19:17:00 +0000

Per vias rectas! Mr. Deasy's origins - revealed! Kelly and Dermot dive into Joyce's real life acquaintances and experiences that inspired the gruff headmaster Mr. Deasy in Ulysses' second episode, "Nestor." Topics covered include why Mr. Deasy is so concerned about foot and mouth disease, the relative rebelliousness of voting in favor of the Union and why Mr. Deasy seems to be unaware of his own history, even though he's so proud of it.

Sweny's Patreon helps keep this marvelous Dublin landmark afloat. Please subscribe!

William Ulsterman

On the blog:

Social Media:

Subscribe to Blooms and Barnacles:

Further Reading:

D’Arcy, A.M. (2014). Dindsenchas, Mr Deasy and the Nightmare of Partition in Ulysses. Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy, 114C, 1-31. Retrieved from https://tinyurl.com/y23sndpr

Ellmann, R. (1959). James Joyce. New York: Oxford University Press.

Gifford, D., & Seidman, R. J. (1988). Ulysses annotated: Notes for James Joyce's Ulysses. Berkeley: University of California Press.

Gogarty, O. (1948). Mourning became Mrs. Spendlove and other portraits grave and gay. New York: Creative Age Press.

Killeen, T. (2001, April 14). Foot-and-mouth-and-Joyce. The Irish Times. Retrieved from https://www.irishtimes.com/news/foot-and-mouth-and-joyce-1.301729

Nicholson, R. (2015). The Ulysses guide: tours through Joyce’s Dublin. Dublin: New Island Books.

Norburn, R. (2004). A James Joyce chronology. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. Retrieved from https://tinyurl.com/y55v6e3p

Historic photo of Dalkey from the National Library of Ireland archives. Retrieved from https://tinyurl.com/y3zklsgf

James Joyce Online notes on Francis Irwin and Mr. Deasy: http://www.jjon.org/jioyce-s-people/irwin

Music

The Rocky Road to Dublin - The Dubliners

Croppies Lie Down

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Blooms & Barnacles) — Thu, 18 Jul 2019 02:18:00 +0000

This week, Kelly and Dermot explain the nightmarish history tucked into Stephen's terse rebuttal of Mr. Deasy's weak grasp of Irish history. The passage covered can be found on p. 31 of Kelly's edition of Ulysses (1990 Vintage International). Topics covered include the history of the Orange Order, the Battle of the Diamond, the Planters' Covenant, the power of copyright law over sectarianism, and how all these issues still affect us today.

The Derry Girls clip we mentioned: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0j0OF-TlyAY

The Orange Toast

The Grand Orange Lodge's take on the Battle of the Diamond

[Croppies Lie Down]4

Sweny's Patreon helps keep this marvelous Dublin landmark afloat. Please subscribe!

On the blog:

Decoding Dedalus: Glorious, Pious and Immortal Memory

Social Media:

Subscribe to Blooms and Barnacles:

Further Reading:

A concise history of the Orange Order. (2014, Jul. 5). The Irish Times. Retrieved from https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/heritage/a-concise-history-of-the-orange-order-1.1855664

Orange Order superhero Dan in copyright row. (2008, Jul. 19). The Belfast Telegraph. Retrieved from https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/orange-order-superhero-dan-in-copyright-row-28442079.html

Who are the Orangmen? (2012, Jul. 11). The BBC. Retrieved from https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-18769781

Gifford, D., & Seidman, R. J. (1988). Ulysses annotated: Notes for James Joyce's Ulysses. Berkeley: University of California Press.

Joyce, P.W. (1910). A concise history of Ireland. Retrieved from https://www.libraryireland.com/JoyceHistory/Ulster.php

Tohall, P. (1958). The Diamond Fight of 1795 and the Resultant Expulsions. Seanchas Ardmhacha: Journal of the Armagh Diocesan Historical Society,3(1), 17-50. doi:10.2307/29740669. Retrieved from https://www.jstor.org/stable/29740669?read-now=1&refreqid=excelsior%3Ac5c157762ce76d62baf004cf0172d7f9&seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents

Orange Order banner: http://100objects.qahn.org/content/victoria-loyal-orange-lodge-no-69-banner-1860s

Big Words Which Make Us So Unhappy

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Blooms & Barnacles) — Wed, 3 Jul 2019 12:00:00 +0000

History is the art of Nestor, so let's immerse ourselves in the nightmare of history, at least the bits covered on p. 31 of Ulysses. Learn about Stephen's hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia. Mr. Deasy tries to teach Stephen a history, but (spoiler alert) he doesn't know much about history. Topics covered include Daniel O'Connell, the Orange lodges, the Famine and the Fenians. This episode covers some heavy stuff, but learning new things will make you feel like the woman in this picture.

On the blog:

Deasy of West Britain

Social Media:

Subscribe to Blooms and Barnacles:

Decoding Dedalus: A Dedalus Never Pays His Debts

Further Reading:

A concise history of the Orange Order. (2014, Jul. 5). The Irish Times. Retrieved from https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/heritage/a-concise-history-of-the-orange-order-1.1855664

Gifford, D., & Seidman, R. J. (1988). Ulysses annotated: Notes for James Joyce's Ulysses. Berkeley: University of California Press.

Kee, R. (2003). Ireland: a history. London: Abacus.

Fogey and Tory

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Blooms & Barnacles) — Wed, 19 Jun 2019 19:00:00 +0000

A character study of the infamous Mr. Deasy, the headmaster of Stephen's school in "Nestor," the second episode of Ulysses. We discuss how Mr. Deasy is a stereotypical Dubliner of his day, as well as his defining characteristics (including his impressive mustache!) Mr. Deasy has a lot to teach us, though he is an old wise man archetype with no wisdom. We talk lots of history and politics in this one! Also, Kelly reveals the worst Scooby Doo character.

Sweny's Patreon helps keep this marvelous Dublin landmark afloat. Please subscribe!

On the blog:

The Pre-Decimal Currency System

Social Media:

Subscribe to Blooms and Barnacles:

Further Reading:

Ellmann, R. (1959). James Joyce. New York: Oxford University Press.

Gifford, D., & Seidman, R. J. (1988). Ulysses annotated: Notes for James Joyce's Ulysses. Berkeley: University of California Press.

Killeen, T. (2001, April 14). Foot-and-mouth-and-Joyce. The Irish Times. Retrieved from https://www.irishtimes.com/news/foot-and-mouth-and-joyce-1.301729

Wilson, A. N. (2004). The Victorians. New York: W. W. Norton and Co.

Bloomsday in Melbourne (w/ Steve Carey)

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Blooms & Barnacles) — Wed, 5 Jun 2019 12:00:00 +0000

A lifelong lover of the works of Joyce, Steve Carey is an organizer of the Bloomsday celebration in Melbourne, Australia. He chats with Kelly about (briefly) meeting Richard Ellmann, the joys and travails of adapting Ulysses for the stage, a heroic battle over trousers in Tom Stoppard's Travesties, and how to get a period hearse for your Bloomsday procession. This episode is not to be missed!

Sweny's Patreon is almost to its goal, but they can still use your help. Please subscribe!

Learn more about Bloomsday in Melbourne here and on Facebook.

Blooms and Barnacles on Social Media:

Subscribe to Blooms and Barnacles:

Music:

Our theme is:

Decoding Dedalus: Dark Men of Mien and Movement

Averroes and Moses Maimonides

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Blooms & Barnacles) — Wed, 22 May 2019 12:00:00 +0000

Kelly and Dermot tackle the reference to Averroes and Maimonides in "Nestor." Not only does this episode cover these two philosophers and their connection to Aristotle, there's also plenty of discussion on Morris dance, Giordano Bruno and the thematic importance of goth kids.

Sweny's Patreon is half-way to its goal, but they can still use your help. Please subscribe!

On the blog:

Social Media:

Subscribe to Blooms and Barnacles:

iTunes| Google Play Music | Stitcher

Further Reading & Listening:

Adamson, P. (2013, Nov. 9). Episode 163: Burnt Offering - The Maimonides Controversy. The History of Philosophy[Audio podcast].

Adamson, P. (2013, Nov. 9). Episode 149: Back to Basics - Averroes on Reason and Religion. The History of Philosophy[Audio podcast].

Delaney, F. (2011, Sep. 27). Episode 68: A Trio of Dudes. Re:Joyce[Audio podcast].

Gifford, D., & Seidman, R. J. (1988). Ulysses annotated: Notes for James Joyce's Ulysses. Berkeley: University of California Press.

Pasnau, R. (2011). The Islamic scholar who gave us modern philosophy. Humanities, 32 (6). Retrieved from: https://www.neh.gov/humanities/2011/novemberdecember/feature/the-islamic-scholar-who-gave-us-modern-philosophy

Yudelson, L. (2017, Nov. 23). The brother Maimonides. The Jewish Standard. Retrieved from https://jewishstandard.timesofisrael.com/the-brothers-maimonides/

Music:

Our theme is:

I Dreamt I Dwelt in Marble Halls

Dick Feeney

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Blooms & Barnacles) — Wed, 8 May 2019 12:00:00 +0000

A super-sized Blooms and Barnacles! Dick is a friend of Kelly's and Dermot's who is a lover of Ulysses and the music found throughout the novel. Dick talks about some of his favorite songs that play a role in Ulysses and the history behind them. We also chat about the use of music in "The Dead," the final story in The Dubliners. And because we've never met a tangent we didn't like, we also talk (briefly) about Dick's time in Turkey, Stephen's lost faith, Dick's love of the opera, and grieving over tragedies that happened many generations ago.

Sweny's Patreon is almost to its goal, but they can still use your help. Please subscribe!

Songs mentioned in this episode:

The Lass of Aughrim

Love's Old Sweet Song

The Croppy Boy

Seaside Girls

Further Reading:

Bowen, Z. (1974). Musical allusions in the works of James Joyce: Early poetry through Ulysses. Albany: State University of New York Press. Retrieved from https://tinyurl.com/yy85e3oq

Ellmann, R. (1959). James Joyce. New York: Oxford University Press.

Maddox, B. (2000). Nora: the real life of Molly Bloom. New York: Mariner Books.

O'Dowd, P. (1999). James Joyce's 'The Dead' and Its Galway Connections. Journal of the Galway Archaeological and Historical Society, 51, 189-193. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/25535707

Social Media:

Subscribe to Blooms and Barnacles:

Our theme is:

Begrudgery

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Blooms & Barnacles) — Wed, 24 Apr 2019 12:00:00 +0000

While begrudge as a verb exists throughout the English speaking world, begrudgery as a noun is peculiar to Ireland. Dermot and Kelly discuss what makes Irish begrudgery a unique phenomena, how it affected Dermot growing up in Ireland, and, of course, how begrudgery influenced James Joyce's life and writing.

Further Reading:

The Irish Times on begrudgery here and here.

Sweny's Patreon is almost to its goal, but they can still use your help. Please subscribe!

Social Media:

Subscribe to Blooms and Barnacles:

Music:

Our theme is:

We Hate It When Our Friends Become Successful

A Fox Burying His Grandmother

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Blooms & Barnacles) — Wed, 10 Apr 2019 12:00:00 +0000

Dermot and Kelly take on a point of vexation and consternation for any Ulysses fan: what the actual heck does Stephen's riddle mean? What symbolism lies within? Does he just like torturing children? We throw in some extra John Milton for good measure.

Sweny's Patreon is half-way to its goal, but they can still use your help. Please subscribe!

On the blog:

Stephen's Riddle

Weep No More: Lycidas in Nestor

Social Media:

Subscribe to Blooms and Barnacles:

Further Reading:

Bowen, Z. (1974). Musical allusions in the works of James Joyce: Early poetry through Ulysses. Albany: State University of New York Press. Retrieved from http://tinyurl.com/y5womf69

Delaney, F. (2011, Aug. 23). Episode 63: A Lot of Nonsense. Re:Joyce [Audio podcast].

Joyce, P.W. (1910). English as we speak it in Ireland. London: Longmans, Green & Co. Retrieved from https://archive.org/details/englishaswespeak00joycuoft/page/187?fbclid=IwAR21xIHZOLV48sEIEVS3TM1Au5QqSrO5Oz1T9nEwSSDhXxSExgVqF2SeydI

Kaczvinsky, D. (1988). "The Cock Crew": An Answer to the Riddle. James Joyce Quarterly, 25(2), 265-268. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/25484873

Rickard, J. (1997). Stephen Dedalus among schoolchildren: The schoolroom and the riddle of authority in Ulysses. Studies in the Literary Imagination, 30, 17-36. Retrieved from http://www.facstaff.bucknell.edu/rickard/authority.html

Music:

Our theme is:

The Nostalgia Trap (w/ Tom O'Leary)

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Blooms & Barnacles) — Wed, 27 Mar 2019 12:00:00 +0000

Kelly and Dermot welcome Tom O'Leary back to the podcast to talk about the allure of nostalgia. Tom and Dermot talk about what it's actually like to be an Irish person who left their home country to seek their fortune abroad, nostalgia for their past, Americans' nostalgia for an Ireland that never was, and how Joyce's nostalgia for Ireland shaped his work.

Sweny's Patreon is half-way to its goal, but they can still use your help. Please subscribe!

Social Media:

Subscribe to Blooms and Barnacles:

T.C O'Leary's online:

website| Facebook|Twitter |Instagram

Our Personal Nostalgia Traps:

Dermot - Reeling in the Years, 1990

Kelly - "Flypaper" by Robscenity

Tom - the dole scene in The Commitments (We couldn't find this clip on YouTube, but here's the trailer if you've never seen The Commitments.)

Music:

Our theme is:

Pyrrhus: A Disappointed Bridge

Wings of Excess

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Blooms & Barnacles) — Wed, 13 Mar 2019 12:00:00 +0000

"One more victory like that and we're done for." Kelly and Dermot discuss the ancient Greek warrior king Pyrrhus and his relation to the excesses of the 20th century. In addition to ancient Greeks, Vico and figroll-munching children, the impact of the Easter Rising of 1916 and World War I on James Joyce and Ulysses are also discussed.

Sweny's Patreon is half-way to its goal, but they can still use your help. Please subscribe!

On the Blog:

Social Media:

Subscribe to Blooms and Barnacles:

Further Reading:

Birmingham, K. (2014, June 7). As the world went to war, James Joyce plotted his own revolution. The Irish Times. Retrieved from https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/books/as-the-world-went-to-war-james-joyce-plotted-his-own-revolution-1.1820543

Gifford, D., & Seidman, R. J. (1988). Ulysses annotated: Notes for James Joyce's Ulysses. Berkeley: University of California Press.

Larkin, F. M. (2017, Jan. 25). James Joyce and the Easter Rising: the first revisionist. The Irish Times. Retrieved from https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/books/james-joyce-and-the-easter-rising-the-first-revisionist-1.2950525

Spoo, R. (1986). "Nestor" and the Nightmare: The Presence of the Great War in Ulysses. Twentieth Century Literature,32(2), 137-154. doi:10.2307/441379 Retrieved from https://www.jstor.org/stable/441379?read-now=1&seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents

Stern, F. (1968). Pyrrhus, Fenians and Bloom. James Joyce Quarterly,5(3), 211-228. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/25486703

Williams, T. (1990). "As It Was in the Beginning": The Struggle for History in the 'Nestor' Episode of "Ulysses". The Canadian Journal of Irish Studies,16(2), 36-46. doi:10.2307/25512826 Retrieved from https://www.jstor.org/stable/25512826?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents

Music:

Our theme is:

And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda

Kelly Bryan

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Blooms & Barnacles) — Wed, 27 Feb 2019 13:00:00 +0000

On a Very Special Episode of the Blooms & Barnacles podcast - it's Dermot's first time leading an episode. He chose to interview his co-host and founder of the podcast, Kelly. He talks to her about why she's the one to teach the world about Ulysses, her insane dream to stage "Circe," her globetrotting years and how she got invited to a party by the Lord Mayor of Dublin. A different vibe than our normal show, but don't worry, it's the good kind of weird.

Sweny's Patreon is half-way to its goal, but they can still use your help. Please subscribe!

Social Media:

Subscribe to Blooms and Barnacles:

Music:

Our theme is:

Ulysses & The Odyssey: Nestor

Nestor

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Blooms & Barnacles) — Wed, 13 Feb 2019 12:00:00 +0000

Welcome to Episode 10, our first episode covering episode two of Ulysses, "Nestor." Kelly and Dermot discuss the political philosophy of Giambattista Vico and his influence on James Joyce, Homeric parallels between King Nestor and Mr. Deasy, and Dermot's artistic inspiration for his cartoon version of Mr. Deasy.

For more information on Vico's political philosophy, we recommend the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.

On the Blog:

Social Media:

Subscribe to Blooms and Barnacles:

Further Reading:

Burgess, A. (1968). ReJoyce. New York: W.W. Norton & Co.

Gifford, D., & Seidman, R. J. (1988). Ulysses annotated: Notes for James Joyce's Ulysses. Berkeley: University of California Press.

Gilbert, S. (1955). James Joyce’s Ulysses: a study. New York: Vintage Books.

Homer, translated by Palmer., G.H. (1912). The Odyssey. Mineola, New York: Dover Publications.

Music:

Our theme is:

The Kinks - A Well-Respected Man

Just for fun:

Remorse of Conscience

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Blooms & Barnacles) — Wed, 30 Jan 2019 20:00:00 +0000

Kelly and Dermot discuss the recurring phrase "Agenbite of Inwit" and why Stephen repeats it over and over on June the sixteenth. Other topics included in the discussion are Buck Mulligan as nagging conscience, the gothic horror of growing up Irish, Catholic guilt and whether or not Stephen would have been better off praying at his mother's bedside.

Read the Trieste notebook for free here.

Consider subscribing to Sweny's Pharmacy's Patreon here.

On the Blog:

Agenbite of Inwit

Social Media:

Subscribe to Blooms and Barnacles:

Further Reading & Listening:

Beplate, J. (2007). Stephen's lyrical language: memory and imagination in Ulysses. Études anglaises, vol. 60,(1), 42-54. https://www.cairn.info/revue-etudes-anglaises-2007-1-page-42.htm?contenu=article

Burgess, A. (1968). ReJoyce. New York: W.W. Norton & Co.

Ellmann, R. (1959). James Joyce. New York: Oxford University Press.

Gibbons, L. (2015, Dec. 3). The ghosts in James Joyce’s modern machine. The Irish Times. Retrieved from https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/books/the-ghosts-in-james-joyce-s-modern-machine-1.2451708

Gifford, D., & Seidman, R. J. (1988). Ulysses annotated: Notes for James Joyce's Ulysses. Berkeley: University of California Press.

Gilbert, S. (1955). James Joyce’s Ulysses: a study. New York: Vintage Books.

Music:

Our theme is:

Decoding Dedalus: Heresies in "Telemachus"

Heresiarchs

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Blooms & Barnacles) — Wed, 16 Jan 2019 23:17:00 +0000

Kelly and Dermot get deep talking about arch heresies, alchemy, Buck Mulligan's blasphemy, James Joyce's love of sacred music, and what the Council of Trent had in common with the classic film Footloose.

Listen to The Mass for Pope Marcellus.

For more info on gnosticism, Dermot recommends The Gnostic Gospels by Elaine Pagels.

On the Blog:

Social Media:

Subscribe to Blooms and Barnacles:

Further Reading & Listening:

Burgess, A. (1968). ReJoyce. New York: W.W. Norton & Co.

Delaney, F. (2011, May 24). Episode 50: Weaving the Wind. Re:Joyce [Audio podcast].

Ellmann, R. (1959). James Joyce. New York: Oxford University Press.

Gifford, D., & Seidman, R. J. (1988). Ulysses annotated: Notes for James Joyce's Ulysses. Berkeley: University of California Press.

Lang, F. (1993). Ulysses and the Irish God. London and Toronto: Associated University Presses. Retrieved from https://books.google.com/books?id=6QCulpmdz6wC&pg=PA111&lpg=PA111&dq=joyce+on+mass+for+pope+marcellus&source=bl&ots=v-SBCVX84a&sig=5BSecDhNK_P6RIYl65dVHGfLLeo&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwj75YrKoKfdAhWBI3wKHT2HBTgQ6AEwDXoECAUQAQ#v=onepage&q=joyce%20on%20mass%20for%20pope%20marcellus&f=false

Music

Our theme is:

Say 'Hello' to Martello Towers

In Defense of Dorkiness

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Blooms & Barnacles) — Fri, 28 Dec 2018 02:36:00 +0000

Kelly and Dermot discuss Stephen's tower-mate, the Englishman Haines. Haines was based on a real-life roommate of James Joyce's - Dermot Chenevix Trench. Did Joyce's personal dislike of Trench color his characterization in the novel? What's up with that black panther mentioned in 'Telemachus?' Why does Dermot (our host) have bad memories of learning Irish in school? These questions and more will be answered. Other topics include: Irish identity in 1904 and now, Joyce's bad attitude, and Gogarty, the unreliable narrator of his own autobiography.

Consider subscribing to Sweny's Pharmacy's Patreon here.

On the Blog:

Who Was the Real Haines?

Social Media:

Subscribe to Blooms and Barnacles:

Further Reading:

Ellmann, R. (1959). James Joyce. New York: Oxford University Press.

Fletcher, A. (2006, Apr 6). A young nationalist in the Easter Rising. History Today. Retrieved from https://www.historytoday.com/anthony-fletcher/young-nationalist-easter-rising

Gogarty, O. (1948). Mourning became Mrs. Spendlove and other portraits grave and gay. New York: Creative Age Press.

Trench, C. (1975). Dermot Chenevix Trench and Haines of "Ulysses". James Joyce Quarterly,13(1), 39-48. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/25487234

Turner, J., & Mamigonian, M. (2004). Solar Patriot: Oliver St. John Gogarty in "Ulysses". James Joyce Quarterly, 41(4), 633-652. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/25478099

Zingg, G. (2013). Is there Hiberno-English on them? Hiberno-English in modern literature: the use of dialect in Joyce, O’Brien, Shaw and Friel. Bern: Peter Lang AG.

Music

Our theme is:

The Women of Ulysses: Mother Grogan and the Milk Woman

Tea for the Tower-Men

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Blooms & Barnacles) — Thu, 13 Dec 2018 20:04:00 +0000

Kelly and Dermot talk about the allegory of the old milk woman who visits Stephen and the boys in the Martello Tower. Topics covered include Hiberno-English, the importance of tea in Irish culture and who the hell Mother Grogan was.

On the Blog:

Social Media:

Subscribe to Blooms and Barnacles:

iTunes | Google Play Music | Stitcher

Further Reading:

The full lyrics of the song "Ned Grogan" can be found here.

More on Mother Grogan: http://web.sas.upenn.edu/ulysses-test/tag/mother-grogan/

Blamires, H. (1985). The Bloomsday Book. New York: University Paperbacks.

Burgess, A. (1968). ReJoyce. New York: W.W. Norton & Co.

Gifford, D., & Seidman, R. J. (1988). Ulysses annotated: Notes for James Joyce's Ulysses. Berkeley: University of California Press.

Sweny's Pharmacy

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Blooms & Barnacles) — Thu, 29 Nov 2018 20:10:00 +0000

Kelly and Dermot sit down with P.J. Murphy and Jack Walsh, two volunteers who are keeping the legacy of Sweny's Pharmacy alive. Sweny's, of course, is the location where Leopold Bloom bought his lemon soap. We talk the history of Sweny's, their Joyce connection and the challenges of preserving Joycean landmarks in 21st century Dublin. P.J. even shares a song at the end.

Sweny's on the Internet:

Website | Facebook | Twitter

Subscribe to Sweny's Patreon to give a monthly donation.

Subscribe to Blooms and Barnacles:

iTunes | Google Play Music | Stitcher

Visit Blooms & Barnacles' YouTube page for video of the interview.

Music

Ulysses CCD - Mulligan Mocks Mass

Introibo Ad Altare Dei

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Blooms & Barnacles) — Thu, 15 Nov 2018 10:05:00 +0000

Kelly and Dermot talk about page #1 of Ulysses, taking a deep dive into the symbolism of the Catholic Mass in the opening scene. There's lots of talk about blasphemy, transubstatiation, saints and why Kelly was a terrible altar server back in the day. We finish off with wild speculation about why kids don't learn Latin and Greek these days.

On the Blog:

Social Media:

Say 'Hello' to Martello Towers

Subscribe to Blooms and Barnacles:

iTunes | Google Play Music | Stitcher

Further Reading:

Burgess, A. (1968). ReJoyce. New York: W.W. Norton & Co.

Gifford, D., & Seidman, R. J. (1988). Ulysses annotated: Notes for James Joyce's Ulysses. Berkeley: University of California Press.

Turner, J., & Mamigonian, M. (2004). Solar Patriot: Oliver St. John Gogarty in "Ulysses". James Joyce Quarterly,41(4), 633-652. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/25478099

Trieste Notebook:

http://digicoll.library.wisc.edu/cgi-bin/JoyceColl/JoyceColl-idx?type=div&did=JOYCECOLL.SCHOLESWORKSHOP.I0013&isize=text

Joyce v. Gogarty

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Blooms & Barnacles) — Wed, 24 Oct 2018 20:14:00 +0000

In this episode we tackle the falling out between James Joyce and Oliver St John Gogarty, the origins of the character Buck Mulligan, what really happened in the Martello tower, blasphemous poetry and how Joyce found his sense of humor.

On the Blog:

Who was the Real Buck Mulligan?

Poetry in Ulysses: The Ballad of Joking Jesus

Social Media:

http://digicoll.library.wisc.edu/cgi-bin/JoyceColl/JoyceColl-idx?type=div&did=JOYCECOLL.SCHOLESWORKSHOP.I0013&isize=text

Further Reading:

Ellmann, R. (1959). James Joyce. New York: Oxford University Press.

Gogarty, O. (1948). Mourning became Mrs. Spendlove and other portraits grave and gay. New York: Creative Age Press.

Lyons, J. (1984). Oliver St. John Gogarty. Dublin Historical Record,38(1), 2-13. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/30100748

Riley, M. (1984). Joyce, Gogarty, and the Irish Hero. The Canadian Journal of Irish Studies,10(2), 45-54. doi:10.2307/25512607. Retrieved from https://www.jstor.org/stable/25512607?read-now=1&refreqid=excelsior%3Aafd1aaaa4471f11ab4207fabb5556216&seq=9#metadata_info_tab_contents

Trieste Notebook:

Turner, J., & Mamigonian, M. (2004). Solar Patriot: Oliver St. John Gogarty in "Ulysses". James Joyce Quarterly,41(4), 633-652. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/25478099

Music

Ulysses & The Odyssey: Telemachus!

kbryanphoto@gmail.com (Blooms & Barnacles) — Wed, 24 Oct 2018 19:53:00 +0000

Dermot and Kelly discuss the connections between Ulysses and The Odyssey. We take on the Gilbert schema, how to market a book like Ulysses, what exactly happens in the opening chapters of The Odyssey, and how it corresponds to the "Telemachus" episode of Ulysses.

On the Blog:

Ulysses & The Odyssey: Telemachus

Social Media:

Further Reading:

Burgess, A. (1968). ReJoyce. New York: W.W. Norton & Co.

Gifford, D., & Seidman, R. J. (1988). Ulysses annotated: Notes for James Joyce's Ulysses. Berkeley: University of California Press.

Homer., translated by Palmer., G.H. (1912). The Odyssey. Mineola, New York: Dover Publications.

Frank K. (2013, April 2). Stephen and Telemachus. Retrieved from: http://ulyssesetc.blogspot.com/2013/04/stephen-and-telemachus.html

Kenner, H. (1987). Ulysses. Baltimore and London: The Johns Hopkins University Press. Retrieved from https://books.google.com/books?id=Ajlz5rzPBOkC&lpg=PP1&pg=PA19#v=onepage&q&f=false

Lennon, J.M. (2015, Feb. 18). Telemachus: The first chapter of Ulysses. Retrieved from https://medium.com/world-literature/telemachus-ba574b16f304

Music