James Joyce
was as unyielding in his thoughts as I. Browsing in bookstores often had me pausing at names of artists I had information they were important. When I found Portrait I immediately knew it was for me. Empathetic and ready for more, I found a few poems and then Dubliners. Totally receptive when I opened Ulysses, I read until somewhere in Bloom's early chapters and then couldn't proceed. The empathy felt for Joyce remained. In the 60s I watched the film of Ulysses that featured Milo Oshea. After a few more failed beginnings I finally dove into it and read it straight through as if it were Mickey Spillane. Between this reading and seeing the film I developed a good understanding of the overall structure of Ulysses. Over the years I have read articles and revisited the novel in part to enjoy the language and in part to increase my knowledge of the more difficult pieces. When in New York I saw a film of Finnegan's Wake. While it was interesting, and had subtitles, in the end I realized I hadn't the mental strength to take on the book. I have read parts of it, but never set out to conquer it. As I wrote at the beginning, I have much empathy for Joyce. Understanding of the man? Just a bit.
DRY WATER is a writer's blog for Charles "Mitch" Turner. His blog of free stories is here: https://cturnertales.blogspot.com/ Author of Mexican Red, Gwenn Wrenn, or, The Hollow Planet, Bonobos, Sam Paine, Spelville, Beyond the Dark Water, Ebenezer's Ghost and Poppy Fields of Mars.
