Literature / Writers Datebook: February 2
Brief biography and works of Irish writer James Joyce, novelist, poet, short story writer, one of the most important 20th century authors, famous for "Ulyssses".
James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (b. 2 February 1882 – d. 13 January 1941), Irish novelist, poet, short story writer and literary critic. Regarded as one of the most influential and important writers of the 20th century, Joyce's novel Ulysses (1922) is a landmark in which the episodes of Homer's Odyssey are paralleled in a variety of literary styles, particularly stream of consciousness. Other well-known works are the short-story collection Dubliners (1914), and the novels A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man (1916) and Finnegans Wake (1939). His other writings include three books of poetry, a play, letters, and occasional journalism.
Early Years of James Joyce
James (Augustine Aloysius) Joyce was the born in the Irish city of Dublin on February 2, 1882, the youngest of ten children. He was educated at strict Catholic schools (in particular, by Jesuits) that were intended to prepare him for a life as a priest. As a young man Joyce rejected this idea – the spiritual struggle he went through to reach this decision became a central theme of his writing in later life. Later, he went to Dublin University College. He was a wide reader. While studying at universities in Dublin and Paris, Joyce began to write. His first book, Chamber Music, was published when he was 25. It is a collection of poems.
Influences of James Joyce
Joyce corresponded with Henrik Ibsen. Among his other strong influences were Dante and W.B. Yeats. His writing were championed by Ezra Pound.
The Youthful Joyce
Distressed by what he felt bigotry of Catholicism, aged 20, he went to Paris for a year, wrote some poetry there, but lived in poverty. He returned to Ireland briefly for his mother's death, and stayed in the Martello Tower, featured in his Ulysses.
He eventually left Ireland, with his lifelong companion Nora Barnacle, and settled in Paris, although the couple settled in Switzerland for awhile.
Joyce the Novelist
The genius of James Joyce became apparently in his novels. His first, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, is based on his early life. It is also reminiscent of Virginia Woolf, as Joyce use the stream-of-consciousness technique to tell the story through the thoughts and feelings of the main character, a sensitive young man who rejects religion and decides to become a great writer. Interestingly too, Woolf is just a week older than him.
His masterpiece, Ulysses, was written while Joyce was living in Italy and Switzerland. It returns to the central character of his first novel, this time a struggling writer living in Dublin. The events in the book take place in a one day in Dublin, but Joyce describes so completely the thoughts of his characters that people claimed he had summed up the whole of human life in this one book.
Legacy
Joyce's Ulysses had a huge influence on many writers 20th century writers. He invented a new kind of storytelling and experimented with language to create a kind of writing unlike anything that had been seen before.
Works by James Joyce
Chamber Music, 1907
Dubliners, 1914
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, 1916
Exiles, 1918
Ulysses, 1922
Poems Penyeach, 1927
Collected Poems, 1936
Finnegans Wake, 1939
Photo Credit:
James Joyce. Wikipedia Commons / Public Domain. (Joyce in Zürich, c. 1918)
Resources:
Cambridge Guide to Literature in English by Ian Ousby (1993)
Great British Writers, Colour Library Books (1993)
Larousse Dictionary of Writers, edited by Rosemary Goring (1994)
(c) February 2009. Tel. Inspired Pen Web. All rights reserved.
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