The 2025 Bloomsday by OLLI Celebration will take place in Room A
at 4801 Mass Avenue NW
Ground Floor
(security code for door and garage: 9352)
on Monday June 16 at 3:30 PM EDT
This will consist of readings for about 2 1/2 hours followed by a cast party to which all attendees are invited
This is a free event
In addition to passages from Ulysses and Portrait of the Artist, this year's celebration will include readings of passages from authors other than
JAMES JOYCE
particularly
T.S. ELLIOT
We have chosen passages of authors who influenced or were influenced by Joyce
that share his love for the Humorous, the Disruptive and the Incongruous
ON THIS PAGE:
REGISTRATION
CAST PARTY at 6:15 PM (all attendees are welcome)
SCRIPT
READERS AND ROLES
PROGRAM NOTES
LINK TO THE COMPLETE RTÉ AUDIOBOOK OF Ulysses
WHY AND HOW TO READ ULYSSES
1.REGISTRATION (for the event that starts at 3:30 PM)- OLLI Members may register for the event on the OLLI EVENTS CALENDAR at Bloomsday
They will receive a reminder on the day of the program.
2.PARTY (starting at 6:15 PM) - All are welcome.
There is no charge for either the program or the party.
3. SCRIPT
(Click in upper right corner to view)
SCRIPT JUNE 16_25 BLOOMSDAY - Final (2).pdf4. READERS/PROGRAM
Larry Bachorik
Laura Bodin
Robert Aubry Davis
Marilyn Wong Gleysteen
Bill Hadden
Walter Kamiat
Peggy Keegan
Bob Kolodney
Steven Lamm
Gail Lelyveld
Dee Mahan
Patricia Aycock Mertz
Mary Poole
Judy Spector
Howard Spendelow
SECTION - READER DESCRIPTION PAGE
A Robert Aubry Davis The Dog From Proteus 4
B Robert Aubry Davis The Cat from Calypso 6
C Robert Aubry Davis Gary Owen from Cyclops 8
D Peggy Keegan Opening of Love Song of JAP 12
E Patricia Mertz Mr. Mistoffelees 13
F Laura Bodin Skimbleshanks 15
G Mary Poole Bustopher Jones: 17
H Steven Lamm Priest's lecture from Aeolus 19
I Steven Lamm Cleopatra from The Wasteland 20
J Walter Kamiat Hellfire from A Portrait 22
K Walter Kamiat P.Dignam Visitation from Cyclops 24
L Howard Spendelow Black Mass from Circe 27
M Howard Spendelow Sum 29
N Judy Spector Narcissus 30
O Bob Kolodney Modern language from Oxen 33
P Bob Kolodney Modern Man 34
Q Bill Hadden Citizen’s Opinions from Cyclops 36
R Larry Bachorik Bloom as Monarch fr0m Circe 39
S Robert Aubry Davis Bloom as JP from Ithaca 44
T Robert Aubry Davis Schmeed Memoirs 46
U Dee Mahan Verse 49
V Gail Lelyveld Wife of Bath 54
W Marilyn Wong
Gleysteen Molly's Last Word from Penelope 58
5. PROGRAM NOTES
Our overall themes for this Bloomsday are:
I. Pets;
II. Visions of Egypt
III.Views of Life after Death
IV. Modern Language
V. Politics
VI. Lyrical Interlude
VII.Forceful Women
This program stresses the contrasting work product of two friends, James Joyce and T.S. Elliot, and two frenemies, James Joyce and William Butler Yeats.
Joyce and Eliot were introduced through Ezra Pound. Eliot furnished Joyce with some ideas particularly for the Oxen of the Sun chapter of Ulysses, he wrote an influential critical piece praising the innovation and skill in Ulysses after it was published, and years later was the publisher of Finnegans Wake.
Both Joyce and Eliot like to refer to classical works in their writing, and both incorporate humor - as a whole Joyce more so than Eliot. We will read some humorous passages from Joyce and Eliot.
Joyce thought that Yeats was not cosmopolitan enough, and didn't hesitate to say that his efforts to revive Gaelic culture and mysticism were too restrictive a vision for Irish literature. Nevertheless, that vision of the world was baked into Joyce and he never escaped it in his writing. He even worked a Yeats poem, Who Will Go with Fergus, into the beginning of Ulysses. And certainly Joyce and Yeats greatly respected each other's writing ability.
In this program we will also read passages of other authors from various time periods including both centuries ago and the late 20th and early 21st centuries that incorporate types of humor found in Joyce and Eliot - this includes Chaucer, Woody Allen, George Carlin and David Eagleman.
Ulysses is arguably the funniest novel ever written. It is an endless source of literary riches - re-reading always reveals things that the reader doesn't seem to have noticed before.
Its smorgasbord of literary effects, psychological perspectives, diverse opinions, acute physical descriptions, multiple perceptions, curiosities, scientific theories and speculations, reflections of history, politics, philosophy, culture and live experience, extraordinary lists, varied emotions, puns, wordplay, parody, incongrous fantasies, pretend logic and other humor has made the book a life companion for many - somewhat akin to an irreligious bible.
Multiple types of chain of conscious narration provide immediacy and diversity since perspectives are always changing, and author seeks to stimulate new avenues of thought and feeling through constant experimentation.
Our program provides a small sampling of Joyce - it's a bit like going into the Louvre or the Metropolitan Museum and picking out a few paintings for an exhibit. Fortunately, there is enough good material in Ulysses to fuel Bloomsdays for centuries to come - maybe even the future dominant AI will enjoy it.
6. RTÉ AUDIOBOOK:
In 1982 for the Centenary of Joyce's birth, the Irish Radio Station RTÉ recorded Ulysses with an exceptional cast. The site for it at the link below has a plot summary for each of the 18 chapters (episodes):
7. WHY READ ULYSSES - SAM SLOTE, A Joyce scholar of Trinity College, Dublin gives a quick overview
AND HOW TO READ IT - BENJAMIN MC EVOY, A wise, perceptive and brilliant champion of great books provides advice and perspective:
