Re: seymour's wake
Malcolm Lawrence (malcolm@wolfenet.com)
Sat, 04 Apr 1998 17:13:02 -0800
Emily Moore wrote:
> Seymour, the Artist as a Young Man? Interesting for me because
> Portrait is one of my all-time favorites. btw, can anyone advise as to
> if the looming and difficult reputations of Ulysses and Finnegans Wake
> are justified? Or do they reach, as Norton suggests, a "point of
> diminishing returns" in that "the effort of both the author and reader
> is disproportionate?" (Personally found that assertion a little cocky
> and out of line...)
Depends on what your reading habits are and what you look for in the books
you read. Sure, they're both "looming and difficult," but then, as I've
mentioned before, it depends on how much a prioi knowledge you can bring to
them. They do have a tendency to be worlds unto themselves, and the more
you've read and/or the older you are the more you'll appreciate them.
I'm still trying to understand Camille's comment about how in Australia
Joyce is considered to be what is referred to as a "dropkick." To me that
signals someone who hasn't got the time or patience for a very scholarly
piece of work and who would literally rather play soccer with the book than
read it. Whatever. I've read Ulysses three times in the past 14 years. I was
20 when I picked it up, but it's the kind of book that not only do you not
ever really finish reading, but you also don't necessarily WANT to finish
reading it. Everything is in there, and half the fun is going back again and
again and again and finding stuff that you missed before. And that's where
the reputation comes from. And as the world's attention span get shorter and
shorter more people are going to be scared off by it, yet those who are
drawn to it (i.e. the ones with attention spans left) will realize what
incredible works they are.
My suggestion, if you really enjoyed Portrait, is to pick up Ulysses and if
you find yourself getting stuck, then join the Joyce mailing list. You can't
find a more vigorous and erudite list. Just subscribing to it and having a
strictly cursory glance at the digest (very voluminous list) every other day
you'll learn more than most post-grad courses you'll ever take. There are a
plethora of very educated people on the list, both respected and published
profs and layreaders both. If you enjoy lists with frequent arguments about
Latin roots, its the place for you. ;-)
And if you wish, write me backchannel and I can give you a list of titles of
books about Ulysses that are excellent guides to "shoe horn" you into the
text.
Finnegans Wake? Haven't touched it yet. Tried to when I was 20 after I
finished Ulysses the first time and knew I should wait a while. I think I'll
try cracking it when I'm 40. Maybe by then I'll be tired of Ulysses and also
know enough to be able to fully appreciate the Wake.
Cheers,
Malcolm