Enduring Beauty

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  “Beauty is the quality which makes to endure. In a house that I know, I have noticed a block of spermaceti lying about closets and mantel-pieces, for twenty years together, simply because the tallow-man gave it the form of a rabbit; and, I suppose, it may continue to be lugged about unchanged for a century. Let an artist scrawl a few lines or figures on the back of a letter, and that scrap of paper is rescued from danger, is put in portfolio, is framed and glazed, and, in proportion to the beauty of the lines drawn, will be kept for centuries. Burns writes a copy of verses, and sends them to a newspaper, and the human race take charge of them that they shall not perish.” —Ralph Waldo Emerson. (1803–1882).   Essays and English Traits.

Happy Bloomsday

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We interrupt our irregularly scheduled flight of fancy that we might observe this day, June 16, known to most bookworms (the Irish ones, in particular) as “Bloomsday.” Herein we celebrate (with as much reserve as panache) the literary marvel that is “Ulysses” as written by James Joyce. The novel in its entirety takes place on this one day in 1904, telling the story of a man who is trying to avoid going home to his wife. In ironic real life, it was the same day Joyce met his wife-to-be. Love it and hate it. It’s not an easy read, but it’s definitely rewarding. It does not soften reality.

I’ve provided below a sample from his work that I find most poetic, as the rhythm and alliteration are astounding. Read slowly, out loud. Pay attention to the sounds of the letters, the words. Genius!

My copy was published in 1961 and contains in the forward, “The Monumental Decision Of The United States District Court Rendered December 6, 1933, By Honorable John M. Wolsey Lifting The Ban On ‘Ulysses.’” Fascinating.

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