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James Joyce was born in Dublin, on February 2, 1882, as the son of John Stanislaus Joyce, an impoverished gentleman, who had failed in a distillery business and tried all kinds of professions, including politics and tax collecting. Joyce's mother, Mary Jane Murray, was ten years younger than her husband. She was an accomplished pianist, whose life was dominated by the Roman Catholic Church. In spite of their poverty, the family struggled to maintain a solid middle-class facade.
From the age of six Joyce, was educated by Jesuits at Clongowes Wood College, at Clane, and then at Belvedere College in Dublin (1893-97). In 1898 he entered the University College, Dublin. Joyce's first publication was an essay on Ibsen's play When We Dead Awaken. It appeared in the Fortnightly Review in 1900. At this time he also began writing lyric poems.
After graduation in 1902 the twenty-year-old Joyce went to Paris, where he worked as a journalist, teacher and in other occupations under difficult financial conditions. He spent a year in France, returning when a telegram arrived saying his mother was dying. Not long after her death, Joyce was traveling again. He left Dublin in 1904 with Nora Barnacle, a chambermaid who he married in 1931.
Joyce published Dubliners in 1914, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man in 1916, a play Exilesin 1918 and Ulysses in 1922. In 1907 Joyce had published a collection of poems, Chamber Music.
At the outset of the First World War, Joyce moved with his family to Zürich. In Zürich Joyce started to develop the early chapters of Ulysses, which was first published in France because of censorship troubles in the Great Britain and the United States, where the book became legally available only in 1933. In March 1923 Joyce started in Paris his second major work, Finnegans Wake, suffering at the same time chronic eye troubles caused by glaucoma. The first segment of the novel appeared in Ford Madox Ford's transatlantic review in April 1924, as part of what Joyce called Work in Progress. The final version was published in 1939.
Some critics considered the work a masterpiece, though many readers found it incomprehensible. After the fall of France in WWII, Joyce returned to Zürich, where he died on January 13, 1941, still disappointed with the reception of Finnegans Wake.
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Chamber Music
I came upon this and found it interesting, it is a collection of poems Joyce wrote, and I think that some of them are quite beautiful. So I thought I would open a thread for the sharing of them, as well if any one would like to dicuss thier thoughts upon the poems. I Strings in the earth and air Make music sweet; Strings by the river where The willows meet. There's music along the river For Love wanders there, Pale flowers on his mantle, Dark leaves on his hair. All softly playing, With head to the music bent, And fingers straying Upon an instrument.
Posted By Dark Muse at Thu 21 Aug 2008, 1:50 PM in Joyce, James || 6 Replies
Quotation of James Joyce
Apparently in his book Dubliners, a collection of 15 short stories, James Joyce described Ireland as "That pig-ignorant ****hole". I apologize for the vulgar language! But I wondered which story it was that he said this in. Thanks very much for any help.
Posted By TheGreatTerror at Sat 31 May 2008, 6:34 PM in Joyce, James || 2 Replies
"Cover version" of "The Dead"
I am told that there are several modern sequels or covers of The Dead, I found Anne Pigone's The Ugly on the web, and it is very funny, but I am told that Edna Obrien also did a rewrite. Anybody know about that? And how one would get ahold of it. Thanks Micky
Posted By MickyTurk at Sun 18 May 2008, 7:30 AM in Joyce, James || 0 Replies
why did Eveline decide to stay in Dublin?
We've just read Eveline by Joyce.and I just though to ask your opinion.
Posted By Mockingbird_z at Tue 29 Apr 2008, 12:57 PM in Joyce, James || 4 Replies
Eveline
I have to be honest, overall I cannot say I really care for Joyce, though I have not read a great deal from him, what I have read for the most part just did not impress me. Though I do not want to be mistaken, I resepct his talent as a writer, and do not deny he has a genious use of langauge but the style in which he writes just does not speak to me. I often find it difficult to connect to his characters which makes reading his books difficult for me, if I am really not invested in the characters and really don't care about thier exeprinces or what happens to them. But with that being said I just finnnished reading Eveline, and it is the first of his stories thus far that really moved me. There was just something about this story, that I truly absolutely loved. I thought it was a beautiful though sad tale, and I could really feel it.
Posted By Dark Muse at Fri 18 Apr 2008, 4:10 PM in Joyce, James || 3 Replies
James Joyce's short stories
I was thinking of writing a paper on some of James Joyce's works. I'd like to use "Araby". Does anyone have any suggestions of two other stories I can use?
Posted By bluepens at Mon 25 Feb 2008, 1:49 PM in Joyce, James || 7 Replies
James Joyce: the master
What do people think here on the forum think of him? What have you read by him? Personally, I find him rather mind-blowing. In my late teens I was moved by Dubliners (last pages of "The Dead" especially) and The Portrait. But Ulysses and Finnegan's Wake overshadow his previous literary achievements. I've been reading FW lately and am very intriguied, though also aware of the great divide of opinions regarding the work. Nabokov thought it trash; Beckett revered it. Any thoughts?
Posted By Morten at Fri 22 Feb 2008, 1:24 PM in Joyce, James || 9 Replies
stephen's aesthetic theory
ok im lost with the theory can somebody pleeeeeeeeeease tell me what is it that joyce is trying to convey
Posted By soniasaw at Fri 15 Feb 2008, 2:54 AM in Joyce, James || 2 Replies
Why is Joyce great?
Hey all. I recently read Ulysses and I'm wondering- what was the point? I feel like I struggled through 700 pages (stopped reading the spark notes halfway through because I thought they were too focused on symbols that weren't really there), and now I'm a bit baffled. I've been told all sorts of things about the book, like "It makes you a better person", "Every line has 3 meanings", and so on. I'm not sure how it was either. I suppose the book has changed me in some ways- mainly in my views on what art should be. For example, after reading it I find myself more open to different forms of art- not just lit. but music and art too. But, with all due respect, what was the point? Was there one? Where is the content, the meat? The themes and the developed characters? Is it a book even worth studying?
Posted By Kent Edwins at Mon 21 Jan 2008, 4:46 PM in Joyce, James || 5 Replies
james joyce
I'm trying to trace references to a telegram sent by James Joyce to Nora Barnacle's father after the birth of their daughter.
Posted By eric villiers at Wed 5 Dec 2007, 12:47 PM in Joyce, James || 0 Replies