I woke up this morning and started reading an article online about James Joyce: The Puns and Detritus in James Joyce’s “Ulysses” : The New Yorker. I find myself reading the New Yorker both on and off line, since I subscribe to the magazine and get the hard copy in the mail. I have read Joyce for most of my adult life. Made it through most of his work sometimes with multiple readings. He has been influential on me with what I have been able to understand of his work.
But one of his works has always eluded my understanding completely no matter how many times I try to delve into it. That, of course, is Finnegans Wake.
With it’s Lewis Carroll-gone-mad approach to language, I have often thought it is a perfect candidate for a hyper-link treatment. This morning I found an excellent site which seems to do just that:
Reading the by now very familiar opening of this book I was pleasantly surprised to have more explanations of the puns then ever before, especially delightful to get more information about the long word which represents the “fall” of Finnegan (humankind).
If you don’t know it, here’s the word:
The fall (bababadalgharaghtakamminarronnkonnbronntonner-
ronntuonnthunntrovarrhounawnskawntoohoohoordenenthurnuk!)
The gloss provides this info:
gaireachtach (garokhtokh) (gael) – boisterous + gargarahat, karak (Hindustani) – thunder.
“Joyce asked me ‘Aren’t there 4 terrible things in Japan, “Kaminari” being one of them?’ I counted for him: ‘Jishin (earthquake), kaminari (thunder), kaji (fire), oyaji (paternity).’ & he laughed.” (Takaoki Katta, “15 juillet, 1926.”)
ukkonen (Finnish) – thunder
bront? (gr) – thunder
Donner (ger) = tonnerre (French) – thunder
tuono (Italian) – thunder
thunner (Dialect) – thunder
trov?o (Portuguese) – thunder
Varuna – Hindu creator and storm god
åska (Swedish) – thunder.
torden (Danish) – thunder
tornach (tornokh) (gael) – thunder
At last! This word makes more sense to me than ever before. Cool beans.
I’m heading out on an airplane Monday to go to California so I am thinking a lot about what I can read with my little netbook. That’s part of why it occurred to me to look once again at online versions of Finnegans Wake. I also have several books going on my Kindle for PC. I’m never sure how much I will really read on vacation, but I like to have the access just in case I get time to actually relax and read.
Technology has been very, very good to me in my old age: OED online, vast access to books and music, scholarship at my fingertips, connection with friends and family.
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n+1: Lions in Winter, Part Two
I linked the first part of this two part series yesterday and described as bookmarked to possibly read. I took my entire treadmilling time to read both parts. It is an amazing in depth story of both the New York Public library’s renovation (and subsequent change of culture) and libraryies in general in the perspective of the rapidly changing environment of how people access information. If you have interest in any of this stuff this is top flight reading in my opinion.
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Zotero seems to be a free tool for embedding online references in your scholarly work. I haven’t done more than bookmark it for possible later investigation.
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Security firm spies on Reuters correspondent | Reuters
Greek spies. Yikes.
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Queen Elizabeth and I.R.A. Ex-Leader Shake Hands – NYTimes.com
Historic.
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Scalia’s Immigration Dissent Is Criticized as Political – NYTimes.com
Our public leaders continue to push the edge of what is acceptable.
Another conservative criticizes Scalia.
A Justice in Chief – NYTimes.com
I have read Greenhouse on the Supremes for years. She is now writing in semi-retirement. She knows stuff.
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Bookmarked to read.
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Interesting looking new book. Link to PDF of prologue.
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