Episode 8: James Joyce's Bloomsday

June 16th is Bloomsday, the only city-wide celebration of a day from a work of fiction! Bloomsday is a celebration of James Joyce's Ulysses, and it is the day that the events from the book took place in Dublin. In this special episode, Marie talks a bit about the book itself and delves into some of the stories and history behind the book.

She speaks with 3 guests in Dublin who are all associated with Bloomsday, but also have 3 different perspectives on the day and Joyce's work. The first guests are Maite Lopez and James Moore from the creative collective, At it Again!, a group of actors and artists who have written a guide to Ulysses, have made a Bloomsday Survival Kit, and will be performing this year in the celebration. She also speaks with Mark Traynor, a scholar of Irish literature and the director of the James Joyce Centre in Dublin. And finally she chats with Wendy Conroy, one of the head volunteers at Sweny's Pharmacy, one of the main surviving Ulysses landmarks.

Marie discovers not only what Bloomsday is about, but also about the relationship that everyday Dubliners have with Joyce.

(photo of Maite Lopez from At it Again!)