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Christopher T George
Chief Inspector
Username: Chrisg
Post Number: 764
Registered: 2-2003
| | Posted on Monday, June 14, 2004 - 1:42 pm: |       |
Hi, all
The following poem of mine will appear among a collection of works by various writers on the Dublin Writers Workshop website on "Bloomsday," Wednesday, June 16, to celebrate the centenary of the day in 1904 on which is set Joyce's Ulysses, which chronicles the day of lead protagonists Leopold Bloom and Stephen Dedalus.
It is actually an update of an earlier poem that I wrote on George Chapman and his musical shaves, although the Leopold Bloom version I think has a lot more layers going for it. 
Leopold Bloom's Close Musical Shave
Tick tock. Ten o'clock as Bloom clatters
down the steps to Ferlingetti's barber shop.
He slides his bum into the cracked, burgundy
leather chair: bloody blood red as the swirling
pole he passed as he entered off O'Connell Street:
red white blue red white blue red white blue red.
Mrs F lathers his chin and neck, her ample
bezoom presses against him, comforts him
O! Molly! O! Molly! as she ladles the scented
soap onto his fizzog, spreads it round round.
Then the Signor strops his cutthroat razor swish
swish, backside of whale, Papa's strap, cut into bum,
as bad as I am, I cried, shamed in my room, ho hum.
F says, "Eez good weather, no, Meeeester Bloom?
I thinka we hava good summer, no?" Mrs plunks
the piano: "You're the Flower of my Heart." Bloom
sighs, feels the letter to Henry Flower nestled
in his side pocket. Does she know? Summer's a-
blumin, a letter from a naughty lady to a naughty
boy ho ho. Mrs F's bezooms bounce to the music,
will you be the flower of my heart? F's razor scrapes
his cheekie cheek so, tickles his neck, oh oh, Antonio!
Christopher T. George
Christopher T. George
North American Editor
Ripperologist
http://www.ripperologist.info
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Christopher T George
Chief Inspector
Username: Chrisg
Post Number: 767
Registered: 2-2003
| | Posted on Wednesday, June 16, 2004 - 8:46 am: | |
Hi all--
I am glad to say that my poem, "Leopold Bloom's Close Musical Shave", in honor of the centenary of Bloomsday, June 16, 1904 - June 16, 2004, is among the poems included in a special Dublin Writer's Workshop anthology. The anthology was put together by editor Nessa O'Mahony in celebration of the day made famous in James Joyce's Ulysses. It can be found at
Dublin (and the world) Writes Bloomsday
Enjoy, everyone!
Best regards
Chris
Christopher T. George
North American Editor
Ripperologist
http://www.ripperologist.info
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Christopher T George
Chief Inspector
Username: Chrisg
Post Number: 769
Registered: 2-2003
| | Posted on Wednesday, June 16, 2004 - 9:47 am: | |
Hi again
Ulysses deciphered!
Never read James Joyce's masterpiece? Now you don't have to. See the following:
Cheat's guide to Joyce's Ulysses
Chris 
Christopher T. George
North American Editor
Ripperologist
http://www.ripperologist.info
|
Natalie Severn
Chief Inspector
Username: Severn
Post Number: 889
Registered: 11-2003
| | Posted on Wednesday, June 16, 2004 - 4:40 pm: | |
Congratulations George! Tremendous writer Joyce
and your poem follows the spirit of his great work!
Natalie |
Robert Charles Linford
Assistant Commissioner
Username: Robert
Post Number: 2566
Registered: 3-2003
| | Posted on Wednesday, June 16, 2004 - 5:49 pm: | |
Hi Chris. Congratulations. I enjoyed your poem, though I'd get more out of it if I knew more about Joyce. But as I say, very enjoyable and I loved the "ho hum".
Robert |
John V. Omlor
Inspector
Username: Omlor
Post Number: 356
Registered: 2-2003
| | Posted on Wednesday, June 16, 2004 - 5:57 pm: | |
Hello all,
Many hearty congrats, Chris! Very well done. "Here's fortune," as Blazes Boylan once toasted.
As one who has been delighted more than a few times struggling with students through Joyce's brilliant novel, let me wish everyone a happy hundredth Bloomsday. I'll be giving the toast in celebration at my local Irish Pub here on St. Pete Beach tonight and looking forward to downing a Guinness or six myself. It's good to be home again.
For those really interested in Bloomsday marginalia, send me private e-mail and I can send you a very large file that offers you, in facsimile, a complete look at the entire edition of the Dublin paper (the Daily Telegraph) that Bloom carried under his arm that day. It's about a 500K PDF file, but is a lot of fun if you know the details offered in the novel.
Everyone go out tonight and have a drink for Giacomo.
(And maybe one for Shane McGowan, too, just because).
Yes I said yes I will Yes....
--John
PS: Jack's year of 1888 is mentioned a number of times in Ulysses, including in the question and answer discussion of Stephen and Bloom's relative ages. The autumn of that year is even mentioned at least once, in what proves to be the "third connecting link" between these two men:
"Mrs. Riordan (Dante) a widow of independent means, had resided in the house of Stephen's parents from 1 September 1888 to 29 December 1891..."
It turns out she was later a "constant informant" of Mr. Bloom.
(Message edited by omlor on June 16, 2004) |
Christopher T George
Chief Inspector
Username: Chrisg
Post Number: 771
Registered: 2-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, June 17, 2004 - 9:24 am: | |
Hi, John, Robert, and Natalie
Thank you each for your kind words about my Joycean poem. Much appreciated. John, yes, please do send me the Bloomsday edition of the Dublin Daily Telegraph. I'd love to receive it. I believe you have my e-mail address. Ta in advance, mate! By the way, I have a nice detailed book on Joyce's Dublin; I don't have it in front of me but I think it is the one listed on Amazon, Joyce's Dublin: an Illustrated Commentary by Rosanna Negrotti. In any case, it has period illustrations and much information on Dublin of the day.
As you may recall, in Molly Bloom's long soliloquy that ends Ulysses there is a passage about Mrs. Maybrick:
". . .take that Mrs Maybrick that poisoned her husband for what I wonder in love with some other man yet it was found out on her wasnt she the downright villain to go and do a thing like that of course some men can be dreadfully aggravating drive you mad and always the worst word in the world what do they ask us to marry them for if were so bad as all that comes to yes because they cant get on without us white Arsenic she put in his tea off flypaper wasnt it I wonder why they call it that if I asked him hed say its from the Greek leave us as wise as we were before she must have been madly in love with the other fellow to run the chance of being hanged O she didnt care if that was her nature what could she do besides theyre not brutes enough to go and hang a woman surely are they. . ."
All the best
Chris
Christopher T. George
North American Editor
Ripperologist
http://www.ripperologist.info
|
Alan Sharp
Chief Inspector
Username: Ash
Post Number: 609
Registered: 9-2003
| | Posted on Friday, June 25, 2004 - 7:37 pm: | |
Only just seen this
For anyone really interested in the Bloomsday/Joyce thing, the National Library of Ireland in Dublin opened a Joyce/Ulysses exhibition on "Bloomsday 100" which will run for two months. It's free to enter, haven't got round to it yet, but was planning to go this coming week so I will report back if anyone is interested. |
Kelly Robinson
Sergeant
Username: Kelly
Post Number: 48
Registered: 2-2004
| | Posted on Saturday, June 26, 2004 - 8:04 pm: | |
Chris,
Congratulations! And thanks for posting the poem. Hope you don't mind that I passed it along to some Joyce-loving friends of mine.
I don't know if anyone else saw The Reduced Shakespeare Company's recent tour of "All the Great Books (Abridged}", but they did a pretty hilarious quick version.
Kelly
"The past isn't over. It isn't even past."
William Faulkner |
James Jeffrey Paul
Unregistered guest
| | Posted on Wednesday, June 23, 2004 - 1:29 pm: | |
Bravo, Chris!
You are a good poet I say yes I say yes I say I will say yes I will always say to say yes I do Yes.
PS: Just purchased Recorded Books' unabridged (on 40 CDs) audio book of ULYSSES. |
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