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Happy Bloomsday!
Published: 6/16/2010 1:12 PM
Last Modified: 6/16/2010 1:12 PM


Two cultural icons: Marilyn Monroe reads "Ulysses" by James Joyce

It's been 106 years since Leopold Bloom set out on what would be a fateful, even fantastic day in his hometown of Dublin, Ireland.

June 16, 1904, is the putative date of the events of "Ulysses," James Joyce's novel. Joyce selected the date to commemorate his first date with Nora Barnacle, the woman who would become his wife. And since 1954, when a group Joyce enthusiasts decided to celebrate the author and his work on what would have been the 50th anniversary of the book's events, Bloomsday events have taken place all over the place.

Joyce's novel is routinely found at or near the top of lists of the "greatest novels ever written" -- lauded for the complexity of its language and imagery and for its wealth of human drama and comedy.

It's been made into films (1967's "Ulysses," 2004's "Bloom") and stage plays.

And now it is a graphic novel, by Robert Berry. Well, the first chapter -- which Joyce in conversation referred to as the "Telemachus" episode -- is now in comic book form from Throwing Horses, which has it up on its website, tulsaworld.com/ulyssesseen.

This adaptation is keeping alive the tradition of "Ulysses" getting in trouble for its frankness of language and action. Apple originally demanded that images from the book be edited to remove or cover depictions of nudity before it would allow it to be viewed on its iPad device. Apple later rescinded the demand, saying in a story in the Washington Post: "We made a mistake."

So, once again, "Ulysses" overcomes the censors.


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ARTS

James D. Watts Jr. has lived in Oklahoma for most his life, even though he still has people saying to him, "Don't sound like you're from around these parts." A University of Oklahoma Phi Beta Kappa graduate, Watts has received the Governor Arts Award, Harwelden Award and the National Conference of Christians and Jews Beth Macklin Award for his writing. Before coming to the Tulsa World, Watts worked for the Tulsa Tribune.

Contact him at (918) 581-8478.

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