arthur,

thanks for your reply. :)

i've only read 60 pages of "ulysses" so far - it's amazing.

the anecdote you mention is also brought up in the foreword / notes. i
always read them, no matter what book, and in this case i am very glad i
did.
i bought "finnegan's wake" years ago, made it to page 23 or so, but it it
one of the main goals in my life to finish it some day. some day. ;-)

best,

michi



The greatest novel of the 20th century. It is a compelling read, it should,
in my opinion, be compulsory reading for any writer, poetry or prose.

On laying aside James Joyce’s ‘Ulysses’ for the night

Dog-eared, copiously annotated,
a  P. and O. ‘Required on Voyage’ label
the chosen bookmark,
the book is quiet now,
all the din of Dublin stilled,
yet echoes endure for even now
homeward the weary Bloomsman plods his way
his weary way the Bloomsman homeward plods
plods the weary Bloomsman his homeward way
homeward his weary way the Bloomsman plods
his homeward way the weary Bloomsman plods
the Bloomsman plods his weary homeward way
plods the Bloomsman his weary homeward way
and
the Bloomsman homeward plods his weary way.


The last nine lines are a play on the line from Gray's Elegy. " The
ploughman homeward plods his weary way " and it was a game at school when I
was a boy to write those six words in as many ways as possible and make
sense.
When Joyce was writing Ulysses, a friend came to see him and asked how the
book was going. Joyce said he had had a good day. Imagining at least a few
pages the man asked how much he had written. " Two sentences", was the
reply. Aghast the man asked again had there been trouble finding the right
words. " Oh, no, I have had the right words for days but I had to find the
right order" explained Joyce. The man asked to see the work in question.
Joyce showed him. " Perfumes of Araby all him pervaded. Mutely he craved to
adore." A passage from the scene in the dress shop.Is that poetry or prose?
Whatever it is a wonderful book. Finnegan's Wake lurks, beckoning you on
like a siren on her weed-strewn rock. There you will wreck all understanding
and linguistic skills.Regards Arthur.