“An' the gobble-uns 'll git you . . . Ef you . . . Don't . . . Watch . . . Out!"
Illustration: Ethel Franklin Betts (1906)
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“No memory of having starred atones for later disregard . . . "  (You'll find my reading of Frost's Mending Wall by clicking on the link.)
James Joyce: Finnegans Wake (The Ballad of Persse O'Reilly) For this year's challenge, I open my dog-eared copy of Finnegans Wake to page 44, to croak out my rendition of “The Ballad of Persse O'Reilly". * (*From the French perce-oreille - or earwig, hence the cognomen of the hero of our story: Humphrey Chimpden Earwicker, whose rumored nefarious deeds are recounted herein.) As with my previous entries from 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2018 - don't overthink it, just enjoy the ride. Sláinte.  For Halloween: A classic horror story from Mister Poe . . .  Illustration: Harry Clarke (1919) For April Fool’s Day . . . Lewis Carroll: A Mad Tea-Party, from “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland”  Illustration: Arthur Rackham (1907) James Joyce: Finnegans Wake (Shem the Penman)  It’s St. Patrick’s Day, and time for my fourth annual reading from James Joyce’s linguistically challenging masterpiece.
This year, I turn to page 169, with the beginning of Joyce’s unflattering (and somewhat autobiographical) portrait of Shem the Penman. As I’ve cautioned in my previous entries from 2015, 2016 and 2017 . . . Don’t try to figure it out. Just enjoy the ride. Slaínte. From Stave II of Dickens’ classic . . . Ebenezer Scrooge and The Ghost of Christmas Past visit some old friends. Charles Dickens: Mr. Fezziwig’s Ball, from “A Christmas Carol”  Illustration: John Leech (1843) (You can hear my reading of Scrooge’s encounter with Marley’s Ghost here.)
A little dark humor from the Master of the Macabre . . .  Arthur Rackham: A Bargain With the Devil (1907) Hans Christian Andersen’s timeless tale . . .  Illustration: Edmund Dulac (1911) James Joyce: Finnegans Wake (Jarl van Hoother and the Prankquean)  ’Tis St. Patrick’s Day, and time for my third annual assault on Finnegans Wake. This year, I open the Wake to page 21, and the tale of Jarl van Hoother and the Prankquean. As with the 2015 and 2016 challenges, bluffing is permitted, encouraged . . . and mandatory. Don't worry if much of this is incomprehensible. Because if it did make perfect sense, it would mean one of two things: a.) You’ve had a wee bit too much Guinness and need to slow down, or . . .
b.) You are James Joyce, and have been dead for the past 76 years. Slaínte. |