To Muldoon, the whole book is bound within those three words. Can you remember them? Of course: stately, plump, and buck.

He was giving the inaugural Dedalus Lecture entitled, “Spinoza’s Shillelagh: Some Thorny Issues in Ulysses.” We were treated to an hour of poetic investigation of, wait for it, the first three words of the novel. Suitably reinvigorated we left our bench, said bench soon to be taken up as temporary dug-out for those Edwardian garbed American footballers, and made our way to MoLI for a lecture by Paul Muldoon, Irish poet and general polymath about town. It’s as if he had bequeathed his very own bench to a couple of foot weary flaneurs in our hour of need! The day was long, starting with a brisk walk to the Martello Tower in Dalkey, then walking the strand in Sandymount, then Sweny’s, then The National Museum and for then what we hoped to be a relieving park bench in St Stephen’s Green before our next “appointment.” But could we find a spare park bench anywhere? No! Literally all benches were occupied and occupied, I might add, by a cacophony of bonnet/boater wearing Edwardians, some of whom were even playing American football! At last, we spied a shady bench and after a dash that would impress Usain Bolt, the bench was duly nabbed! We sat and napped only to discover on awakening that we were sat opposite non other than our very own Jim! There he was, plinthed and peering back at us with those dodgy eyes of his. Reading Ulysses is not only a wonderful literary adventure, it’s also great fun! Our next Ulysses studies (a six-month study beginning in January 2023 and an extended ‘slow read’ option starting in October 2022) are now open for booking. Old Ulyssians – Make more room in the Bed! “ Possess her once take the starch out of her” “ That’s the bucko that’ll organise her, take my tip.”Ī frustrated reader who hasn’t yet learned to swim in Jim Her reading wobbles but Buck draws her near “ I’m not a believer myself, that is to say…Ī believer in the narrow sense of the word.”Īnother reader takes tentative steps forward Will they stumble and fall into ineluctable modality of the impossible? First time faces gather in Hollywood Squares

Bloomsday 2022 joyce