Bloomsday on Delancy

.


Once a year the Rosenbach Museum and Library celebrates Bloomsday, the commemoration of June 15, 1904 on which all the action of James Joyce's mighty novel Ulysses occurs. Delancey Place is closed to cars and filled with chairs and a rotating schedule of local celebrities read the entire novel over the course of the event.

(That's possible, you know. In fact, the novel is nowhere near as daunting as some people make it out to be. If you've tried and bounced off it, try this trick: read it out loud. Joyce was all about the sound of words.)

So here I am with the cutout of Joyce:

[image error]



And here's Samuel R. Delany, leaning into the "Wandering Rocks" section:

 [image error]

And another shot for good measure:

[image error]



Also reading was boulevardier and bookman Henry Wessells:

[image error]


And Fran Wilde read also. From the "Oxen of the Sun" section. Here she is Jimmy and me:

[image error]



And I would be remiss if I didn't mention . . .

[image error]


I'll be at the Rittenhouse Square Barnes & Noble this Friday at 7!

Several other comic book creators and I will be there to promote Once Upon A Time Machine: Greek Gods & Legends, an anthology of science-fictionalized Greek myths and legends.

This is my first comic-book story ever and I was extraordinarily pleased with how it came out. So I'd be delighted if somebody showed up for the event. If you happen to be in Philadelphia this Friday and don't have any other obligations, please consider coming.

End of hard sell.


Above: A singer from the Academy of Vocal Arts being looked down on by Bloom himself, while Stephen Dedalus is so wrapped up in his own thoughts he fails to notice her. The program didn't list her name, unfortunately. She was magnificent, though.

*