“For auld lang syne.”

For Halloween: Mister Poe's onomatopoetic masterpiece . . .

(To listen to my previous Poe readings, click on the links for 2014, 2015, 2017 and 2019.)

“An' the gobble-uns 'll git you . . . Ef you  . . . Don't . . . Watch . . . Out!"

(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 . . .

You can listen to my previous Poe readings at these links for 2014, 2015 and 2017.

For April Fool’s Day . . .

Lewis Carroll: A Mad Tea-Party, from “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland”

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”

(You can hear my reading of Scrooge’s encounter with Marley’s Ghost here.)

A little dark humor from the Master of the Macabre . . .

(You can listen to my previous Poe readings here and here.)