Throughout the month of June, “Bloomsbay” offers diverse events for Joyceans and Ulysses neophytes alike 

SAN FRANCISCO, May 10, 2022 - On February 2, 1922, James Joyce’s masterpiece, Ulysses, was published by Sylvia Beach, the American owner of the famous Shakespeare and Company bookstore in Paris, and the literary world was never the same.  Each year, Joyce fans around the globe come together on June 16, the day on which Ulysses is set, to commemorate the life of the Irish writer. Known as Bloomsday, the celebration is named after the book’s protagonist, Leopold Bloom. This June, the Consul General of Ireland, San Francisco Public Library (SFPL), Mechanics’ Institute, Irish Culture Bay Area, the United Irish Cultural Center and the Irish Studies Program at University of California, Berkeley have organized a citywide, multi-event celebration in honor of the book’s centennial. “Bloomsbay” will take place from June 1 through July 31, at various locations with activities for all ages. See event descriptions below. All events are listed on the Irish Culture Bay Area website, irishculturebayarea/bloomsbay. For librarian-curated book recommendations, visit on.sfpl.org/ulysses100.

“The Irish Consulate is proud to support this Bay Area celebration of one of Ireland’s greatest writers, James Joyce, in this, the centenary of the publication of his remarkable novel, Ulysses—a book which changed the world of literature,” states Robert O’Driscoll, Consul General of Ireland, San Francisco. “Ulysses is full of contradictions. It is hyperlocal, but universal. It is experimental, but wholly natural. These contradictions provide an inexhaustible reserve of facets, angles and new approaches to the text so that we experience each reading with new eyes. Thanks to our partners, Bloomsbay offers a diverse array of events across music, spoken word, animation and literary discussion, utilizing celebrated traditions and new cultural lenses alike. Bainigí sult as an comóradh céad bliain. We look forward to joining you at the celebrations.”

“Inspiring a love of reading and learning is what we are all about,” says City Librarian Michael Lambert. “Bloomsbay offers contemporary audiences a variety of entry points to understanding and appreciating Ulysses and brings joy to the experience of decoding this rich work of art.”  

Bloomsbay Event Details (in chronological order): 

EXHIBIT
Transcultural Joyce: The Reception of James Joyce in World Literatures Book Display
The San Francisco Public Library’s International Center hosts a display of books in 19 languages by authors inspired by James Joyce.
WHO: San Francisco Public Library 
WHERE: San Francisco Main Library, 100 Larkin Street, International Center (3rd Floor)
WHEN: 1 June – 31 July, 2022
INFORMATION: sfpl.org

EXHIBIT
Ulysses at 100 Book Display
The San Francisco Public Library’s General Collections & Humanities Center hosts a display of books by and about James Joyce.
WHO: San Francisco Public Library
WHERE: San Francisco Main Library, 100 Larkin Street, General Collections & Humanities Center (3rd Floor)
WHEN: 1 June – 31 July, 2022
INFORMATION: sfpl.org
COST: Free

BOOK CLUB
World Literature Book Club Discusses James Joyce's Ulysses
Join fellow literature lovers to discuss what has been called the most influential novel of the 20th century, Ulysses. This novel, written one hundred years ago by the Irish author James Joyce, follows a day in the life of Dublin native Leopold Bloom.
WHO: San Francisco Public Library 
WHEN: June 2, 5:30 – 7:30 p.m. 
WHERE: San Francisco Main Library, 100 Larkin Street, Latino/Hispanic Room (Lower Level)
INFORMATION: sfpl.org
COST: Free 

FILM SCREENING
Shalom Ireland 
Shalom Ireland is a fascinating documentary about Ireland's remarkable, yet little known Jewish community. The film chronicles the history of Irish Jewry while celebrating the unique culture created by blending Irish and Jewish traditions. From gun running for the Irish Republican Army during Ireland's War of Independence to smuggling Jews escaping from the Holocaust into Palestine, the film tells the story of Irish Jews involved in the creation and development of both Ireland and Israel. Following the screening there will be a discussion about Jewish Irish identity and how it is represented in James Joyce’s seminal work, Ulysses, with filmmaker Valerie Lapin Ganley and Dr. Joshua Gang, professor of English at UC Berkeley. 
WHEN: June 5, 2–4 p.m. 
WHERE: San Francisco Main Library, 100 Larkin Street, Koret Auditorium 
INFORMATION: sfpl.org
COST: Free 

EXHIBIT

International Joyce
The Library along with the Consulate General of Ireland present an exhibit on the life of Irish author James Joyce—his life in Ireland, his education, his travels and his eventual residence in Paris. The display discusses the writing of his books Dubliners, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, Finnegans Wake and, of course, Ulysses. The exhibit includes special material on the novel’s publisher Sylvia Beach, founder of the famous Shakespeare and Company bookstore in Paris.
WHO: San Francisco Public Library and the Department of Foreign Affairs Culture Unit 
WHERE: San Francisco Main Library, 100 Larkin Street, 6th Floor 
WHEN: June 11 – October 13, 2022
INFORMATION: sfpl.org 
COST: Free

MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
Goldenhair–a song cycle based on Ulysses
Composer Brian Byrne leads premiere talent from Ireland and the Bay Area in an ambitious song cycle based on Joyce’s seminal novel.
WHO: Presented by the Consulate General of Ireland and the Department of Foreign Affairs Culture Unit. Transportation kindly provided by Aer Lingus.
WHERE: Feinstein’s at the Nikko
WHEN: June 14, 2022, 8 p.m. 
INFORMATION: feinsteinssf.com 
COST: $55 per person

WORLD PREMIERE 
Penelope Animation Project
Through kinetic captioning, award-winning Irish actor Maria Doyle Kennedy and animator and ‘Joyce geek’ Adam Harvey bring to life an excerpt from “Penelope,” episode 18 of Ulysses. Project creator Catherine Flynn, Associate Professor of English at UC Berkeley and editor of The Cambridge Centenary Ulysses: The 1922 Text with Essays and Notes, launches the piece in an online event with discussion of “Penelope” and its storied performance history.
WHO: Catherine Flynn, University of California, Berkeley, project creator; Maria Doyle Kennedy, actor; Adam Harvey, animator; funding from the Consulate General of Ireland and the Department of Foreign Affairs Culture Unit
WHEN: Video available from noon, June 16, 2022 
WHERE: Online
INFORMATION: ies.berkeley.edu/irish
COST: Free

COMMUNITY CELEBRATION (I)
Bloomsday at Mechanics’ Institute (Virtual)
Mechanics’ Institute will kick off Bloomsday with an online noon-time literary tribute with Joyce scholar Catherine Flynn who will share highlights from her much anticipated book, The Cambridge Centenary Ulysses: The 1922 Text with Essays and Notes. In Flynn’s words: “Ulysses is a book that many try but fail to read. This edition is designed to help you grapple with its difficulties.” Copiously equipped with maps, photographs, and explanatory footnotes, the edition also features introductions to each of the episodes by leading Joyceans. This midday program also includes a conversation with publishers of Ulysses: An Illustrated Edition (Other Press), which features the striking and humorous illustrations by renowned Spanish neo-figurative artist Eduardo Arroyo (1937–2018).
WHO: Mechanics’ Institute
WHEN: June 16, 12 p.m., noon
WHERE: Zoom
INFORMATION: milibrary.org
COST: Free

COMMUNITY CELEBRATION (II)
Bloomsday Celebration at Mechanics’ Institute (Onsite - in person)
This evening event features an annual gathering of Joycean celebrants for community readings and performances with musicians Anne Bingham Goess (fiddle, vocals), Eamonn Flynn (piano,vocals), Jason Pollack (flute) and actors Bruce Bierman, Josiah Polhemus, Esther Mulligan and John Illyin. A seisiun follows with the musicians! Costumes and readings welcome! A Bloomsday Plate, with delicacies mentioned in the book, will be served and libations will be available for purchase!
WHO: Mechanics’ Institute
WHEN: June 16, 5 – 7:30 p.m.
WHERE: Mechanics’ Institute, 57 Post Street, San Francisco 94104
INFORMATION: milibrary.org
COST: $15.00 - $20.00 per person includes a special Bloomsday Plate. Registration required. 

Additional activity: Audiences are invited to view Mechanics’ Institute’s 2020 video Bloomsday Noon: A Performance Montage & Celebration featuring 16  eclectic performances. Available anytime on YouTube Channel: https://youtu.be/-Cr87etW0cw

WORLD PREMIERE
U22 The Centenary Ulysses Podcast
Officially launched on June 16, 2021, the U22 podcast anticipates and accompanies a reader-friendly edition of Ulysses that Joyce scholar Catherine Flynn is bringing out with Cambridge University Press for the book’s centenary. On the podcast, she and co-hosts Emily Moell and Louie Poore talk with the contributors to the volume and with readers of Ulysses from around the world. They discuss their first impressions, later realizations and the pleasures they met along the way. Tune in on Bloomsday for the latest episode as the team work their way towards the final chapter, “Penelope.”
WHO: Catherine Flynn, Associate Professor of English at UC Berkeley and editor of The Cambridge Centenary Ulysses: The 1922 Text with Essays and Notes, and co-hosts Emily Moell and Louie Poore
WHERE: U22pod.com, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and everywhere podcasts are available.
COST: Free

VIRTUAL BOOK DISCUSSION
Biscuits & Books Live! Featuring James Joyce
Join this free virtual book chat to discuss James Joyce and Dublin-related books from the Patrick J. Dowling collection at the United Irish Cultural Center.  
WHEN: June 16, 2022, 4 p.m.
WHERE: Join in person on Zoom and or stream live on Facebook: facebook.com/dowlinglibraryattheuicc
REGISTER:  on.sfpl.org/uicc_joyce
COST: Free

AUTHOR TALK
Ireland’s Ambassador to the U.S. Daniel Mulhall on His New Book, Ulysses: A Reader’s Odyssey
Daniel Mulhall, Ireland’s ambassador to the United States, reads from Ulysses: A Reader’s Odyssey, a warm, wise and highly enjoyable introduction to James Joyce’s classic novel Ulysses. The Irish author James Joyce published his groundbreaking modernist novel Ulysses in 1922, an event that profoundly influenced the course of world literature. While Joyce’s astonishing novel is quite international in its references and appeal, it is also profoundly Irish. As Mulhall observes, “No other writer managed, or even attempted, such a lavishly forensic portrait of Ireland, and that is why, especially for Irish people, reading Ulysses is an invaluable adventure.” With his deep knowledge of Irish literature and culture and his lifetime of experience with Irish history and politics, Mulhall is the ideal guide to this novel’s Irish settings and characters. 
WHEN: June 17, 2022, 1–2 p.m. 
WHERE: Virtual
INFORMATION: sfpl.org
COST: Free 

COMMUNITY CELEBRATION (III)
James Joyce Celebration and Open-Mic at the United Irish Cultural Center
Gather with community at the United Irish Cultural Center to celebrate the centennial of James Joyce’s epic, Ulysses. Come in period garb (optional) with your favorite passage to read on stage.
WHO: United Irish Cultural Center of San Francisco
WHEN: Saturday, June 18, 2–4 p.m.
WHERE: United Irish Cultural Center, 2700 45th Ave, San Francisco, CA 94116
INFORMATION: irishcentersf.org
COST: Free

All events are listed on the Irish Culture Bay Area website, irishculturebayarea.com/bloomsbay. For librarian-curated book recommendations, visit on.sfpl.org/ulysses100.

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