

Blooms & Barnacles
Kelly Bryan
A blog and podcast that discuss James Joyce's Ulysses from a non-academic point of view. Less snooty, more movie references.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Jan 28, 2024 • 9min
Dubliners #1 - The Sisters & An Encounter [TEASER]
We share our thoughts on the Dubliners short stories "The Sisters" and "An Encounter"Hear and watch the full episode at patreon.com/barnaclecast

Jan 17, 2024 • 1h 4min
A MAN OF HIGH MORALE
“Speaking about me. What did he say? What did he say? What did he say about me? Don’t ask.”Topics in this episode include a rumor about Stephen, Professor Magennis, Æ the mastermystic, drama within Dublin’s occult circles, how Æ helped James Joyce get published, the opal hush poets, Joycean tarot cards, D.P. Moran and The Leader, the horror of a truly clever nickname, mocking bad poetry, the Opal Hush cocktail, Pamela Colman Smith, Helena Blavatsky’s old bag of tricks, theosophy, an American professor’s visit to Dublin, Joyce’s debut in the Dublin literary scene, microcosm and macrocosm, Mr Justice Fitzgibbon, more Tim Healy and Joyce’s ability to hold a lifelong grudge.Support us on Patreon to access episodes early, bonus content, and a video version of our podcast.On the Blog:Decoding Dedalus: The Opal Hush Poets — Blooms & BarnaclesBlooms & Barnacles Social Media:Facebook | Twitter | InstagramSubscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube

Jan 4, 2024 • 56min
Ep. 126 - ITALIA, MAGISTRA ARTIUM
Sufficient for the day is the newspaper thereof.Topics in this episode include Grattan and Flood, Seymour Bushe and the Childs murder case, Hamlet references, Michelangelo’s Moses and where to find it, Lenehan’s cigarette scheme, J.J. O’Molloy’s love of forensic rhetoric, the shortcomings of memoria, court cases appearing in the works of Joyce, Samuel Childs and Thomas Childs, James Joyce’s youthful interest in the law, a surprise appearance by Alexander Keyes, a Joyce family connection to the Childs murder, James Joyce’s lifelong grudge against Tim Healy, Charles Stewart Parnell, lex talionis, the law of evidence, and just how eloquent Seymour Bushe really was.Support us on Patreon to access episodes early, bonus content, and a video version of our podcast.On the Blog:A POLISHED PERIODBlooms & Barnacles Social Media:Facebook | Twitter | InstagramSubscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube

Dec 26, 2023 • 10min
Bonus Ep. 12 - At Swim-Two-Birds (w/ Paul Fagan) [TEASER]
We welcome Paul Fagan (founder of the International Flann O'Brien Society) to Blooms & Barnacles to discuss a work heavily influenced by James Joyce - Flann O'Brien's 1939 novel, At Swim-Two-Birds.To hear the full episode, subscribe at patreon.com/barnaclecast

Dec 20, 2023 • 58min
Why aren’t there any black characters in Ulysses? (w/ Ryan Kerr)
Ryan Kerr joins the Blooms & Barnacles podcast to discuss the racial politics of Ulysses. Topics include the minstrel show performer Eugene Stratton, the absence of black characters in Ulysses, and the depiction of anti-black racism within the novel.Support us on Patreon to access episodes early, bonus content, and a video version of our podcast.Check out Ryan's article here:Kerr, R. (2022). James Joyce, Eugene Stratton, and Spectrality: The Absent Presence of Racial Politics in Ulysses. James Joyce Quarterly, 59(2), 231. https://www.academia.edu/92573371/James_Joyce_Eugene_Stratton_and_Spectrality_The_Absent_Presence_of_Racial_Politics_in_UlyssesBlooms & Barnacles Social Media:Facebook | Twitter | InstagramSubscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube

Dec 6, 2023 • 56min
RHYMES AND REASONS
Clamn dever.Topics in this episode include Dublin journalism minutiae, pallindromes, Lenehan’s spoonerisms, the sad history behind the real-life inspiration for Professor MacHugh, the return of Stephen Dedalus’ extremely erudite daydreams, Stephen punches up Douglas Hyde’s poem, poetic meter and foot, rhyme and rhythm, the nightmare of history, Joyce’s love of Dante, Dante’s Divine Comedy, Francesca and Paolo’s eternal damnation, a secret wind motif, Kelly and Dermot attempt to speak Italian, interlinguistic puns, and the oriflamme.Support us on Patreon to access episodes early, bonus content, and a video version of our podcast.On the Blog:Decoding Dedalus: RHYMES AND REASONSBlooms & Barnacles Social Media:Facebook | Twitter | InstagramSubscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube

Nov 22, 2023 • 60min
THE GREAT GALLAHER
What opera is like a railway line?Topics in this episode include MacHugh's love of Greek, kyrie eleison, Lenehan's riddle and limerick, the legendary Ignatius Gallaher, the real-life Gallaher, the Phoenix Park murders and the Invincibles, what Crawford gets wrong about the Invincibles, Gumley and Skin-the-Goat, Gallaher's great scoop in the New York World, the Bransome's coffee map, the nightmare of history, and James Joyce's views on political violence.Support us on Patreon to access episodes early, bonus content, and a video version of our podcast.On the Blog:The Invincible Ignatius GallaherBlooms & Barnacles Social Media:Facebook | Twitter | InstagramSubscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube

Nov 8, 2023 • 54min
A Hungarian it was one day...
What do Stephen and Bloom have in common with Austria-Hungary?Topics in this episode include Stephen delivering Mr. Deasy’s letter, Stephen’s vampire poem, Crawford dunks on Mr. Deasy, a cure for foot and mouth disease, the assassination attempt against Emperor Franz Josef, Maximilian Karl O’Donnell, graf von Tirconnell’s heroic defense of the Emperor, the Flight of the Earls and the Wild Geese, the Habsburgs, Ireland’s historic affinity for Hungary, Arthur Griffith’s Hungary Policy, hypostasis, Leopold Bloom’s connection to the Habsburgs, whether or not Bloom first had the idea for Sinn Fein, the barflies in Barney Kiernan’s thoughts on Hungary, Joyce’s own thoughts on Griffith’s Hungary Policy, and the inherent problems of nationalism.Support us on Patreon to access episodes early, bonus content, and a video version of our podcast.On the Blog:Leopold Bloom in the House of HabsburgBlooms & Barnacles Social Media:Facebook | Twitter | InstagramSubscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube

Oct 25, 2023 • 1h 31min
Tales From the Tower Live (w/ Vivien Veale Igoe, Robert Nicholson, & Breandan O'Broin)
Kelly talks with former James Joyce Tower & Museum curators Vivien Veale Igoe and Robert Nicholson, and editor Breandan O'Broin about their experience curating the tower, how Dublin's relationship with Joyce has changed over the years, and their new book, Tales from the Tower.Tales from the Tower will be available to purchase November 1, 2023 You can find a video version of this episode at our YouTube channel and our Patreon page

Oct 11, 2023 • 46min
THE GRANDEUR THAT WAS ROME
How often does James Joyce think about the Roman Empire?Topics in this episode include Leopold Bloom bullied by children and adults, stealing upon larks, the Oval, The Rose of Castille, Lenehan’s riddle unfulfilled, the Roman Empire as an analogue to the British Empire, puns, cloacae, the origin of the phrase “cloacal obsession,” H.G. Wells’ review of A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, MacHugh’s anti-imperial oratory, Stephen Dedalus’ favorite smells, “The Holy Office,” the British love of the watercloset, colonialist civilizing and British conquest, Sir John Harington and the first flush toilet, Ajax and a jakes, François Rabelais, Edward Said, and Dermot’s impression of H.G. Wells.Support us on Patreon to access episodes early, bonus content, and a video version of our podcast.On the Blog:A Cloacal ObsessionBlooms & Barnacles Social Media:Facebook | Twitter | InstagramSubscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube


