A) Great article, thanks for posting! I would say the headline is a little bit of clickbait (the "complication" implied there is that he had complicated feelings about Ireland, plus maybe some sexual kink stuff), but in 2024 I can't complain. After all, as an ex-Adsense employee, it's more my fault than theirs!
B) "From then on, Joyce lived in Europe." Isn't Ireland in Europe...?
C)
“Just as ancient Egypt is dead,” he wrote, “so is ancient Ireland.” His aim was not to become bound to a romanticised notion of the Irish past, but to show modern Ireland to itself and to make an Irish literature that was truly European."
A beautiful notion... Will definitely be rattling around in my head as I think about modern nationalism and the extent to which its ever okay to talk about "western civilization" or "athenian legacy" and such with a straight face. Ditto for the "founding fathers" of the USA, really... I'm hopeful we can build a truly global American culture, and hopefully with a bit less bloodshed than secularism cost Europe.
D) If this essay interested you and you haven't read The Hyperion Cantos, I highly highly recommend it! Simmons employs Joyce as a central motif throughout the series, which I recall being somewhat confounding at the time, but likely eye-opening if you're familiar with the man's work!
B) "From then on, Joyce lived in Europe." Isn't Ireland in Europe...?
C)
A beautiful notion... Will definitely be rattling around in my head as I think about modern nationalism and the extent to which its ever okay to talk about "western civilization" or "athenian legacy" and such with a straight face. Ditto for the "founding fathers" of the USA, really... I'm hopeful we can build a truly global American culture, and hopefully with a bit less bloodshed than secularism cost Europe.D) If this essay interested you and you haven't read The Hyperion Cantos, I highly highly recommend it! Simmons employs Joyce as a central motif throughout the series, which I recall being somewhat confounding at the time, but likely eye-opening if you're familiar with the man's work!