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James Joyce (1882-1941)
Who?
Greatest novelist of the 20th century, who took modernist experimentation to its ultimate conclusion. He revolutionised the form and structure of the novel, influenced the development of the 'stream of consciousness' technique and pushed language and linguistic experiment to extreme limits.
Must reads
Dubliners (1914), A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man (1916), Ulysses (1936) and Finnegans Wake (1939).
Darkest hour
In 1912, he visited Dublin for the last time, before moving to Paris. Although he was born and educated in Dublin, the main theme in his early writing is that of the flight from the constraints of religion, language and nationality of his native Ireland. In 1917, an attack of glaucoma left him in pain for the rest of his life, and in later years he was troubled by his daughter's mental illness.
Greatest triumph
In 1922, Ulysses was published in Paris on 2 February, his 40th birthday. Poet TS Eliot and novelist Ernest Hemingway heralded it as a work of genius. 1922 is the annus mirabilis for 20th century literature as Eliot's poem The Waste Land was also published.
Essential quotes
'Ireland is an old sow that eats her farrow.' (A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man)
'And I thought well as well him as another and then I asked him with my eyes to ask again yes and then he asked me would I yes to say yes my mountain flower and first I put my arms around him yes and drew him down to me so he could feel my breasts all perfume yes and his heart was going like mad and yes I said yes I will yes.' (Penelope in Ulysses)
'O tell me all about Anna Livia! I want to hear all about Anna Livia!' (Finnegans Wake)
Gossip
He constantly struggled against poverty, living in Paris with Nora Barnacle, to whom he wrote sexually explicit letters.
Did u know?
He lived in Trieste, Italy, for some years and taught English at the Berlitz School. He met Italian novelist Italo Svevo.
Dateline
16 June is Bloomsday, named after the character Bloom in Ulysses, which is set on a single day in his life. Ulysses took seven years to write, Finnegans Wake took 17.
What to say
Joyce is the main man of serious experimental literature. He wrote very few books, but each one is completely different from the previous one, more unusual and difficult to read. Finnegans Wake is written in such a unique made-up language that people are still trying to make sense of it.
Don't say
Wake up.
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