Bloomsday will be celebrated again on June 15 at Summit Manor Reception House, 275 Summit Avenue, St. Paul, Minnesota from 5-8pm. Dust off you beautifully festooned hats because it’s time to celebrate the sixth anniversary of Irish Network’s noted celebration. There will be readings from Ulysses and music and a period costume contest, delicious refreshments and adult beverages and lots of other surprises that await you.
February 2, 2022, marked the centennial of the publication of James Joyces’s masterpiece, Ulysses. Constructed as a modern parallel to Homer’s Odyssey, Ulysses takes place over the course of a single day in Dublin, Ireland, on June 16, 1904. Historically, Ulysses is considered one of the one of the best-written modern novels of the previous century and has attained cult status over the years, being called both masterfully moving to hilariously obscene.
Whether you like the novel or not, whether you think it is greatest book ever written or not, after 100 years Ulysses is still being read, enjoyed, discussed, reinterpreted and rediscovered,” said Patrick Coleman, former Acquisition Librarian, Minnesota Historical Center. “A Homeric achievement.”
National Bloomsday was first mentioned in 1924. A letter written by James Joyce on June 27, 1924 talks about how a group of people would celebrate Bloomsday by gathering on June 16. The Holiday’s title was picked from the name of the book’s, protagonist, Leopold Bloom. Bloomsday caught on not only in Ireland but worldwide and is celebrated from Hungary and Croatia to Italy, Australia and New Zealand as well as the United States, Dublin and other locations.
The Third Annual Bloomsday Literary Award will be given at the event also to a Minnesota author of nonfiction with a Celtic theme. The first recipient of the Bloomsday Literary Award in poetry was Ethna McKieran for her lifelong dedication to her incredible legacy of poetry. McKieran unfortunately passed on December 12, 2021, leaving the literary and Irish community in the area without her genius and virtuosity.
Sponsors for the 2023 Bloomsday include Summit Manor, The Ancient Order of Hibernians, Archbishop John Ireland Division 4, The University of St. Thomas Irish Studies program, The Dubliner Pub, Irish Gazette Media, Extended Exposure, Brian Boru Pipe Band and Minnesotans for United Ireland.
Irish Network Minnesota (IN-MN) is a social, cultural and business network for friends of Ireland and a chapter of Irish Network’s national and international network with more than 4,500 members. Visit irishnetworkmn.org for more information.
