The Pursuit of a Writer: James Joyce

I could write about Groundhog Day or the founding of National League Baseball or the anti-Vietnam War protestors who sued Dow Jones on this day in 1970. But in my pursuit to improve my own writing, I am studying the masters. James Joyce is one such.

James Joyce was born on February 2, 1882. The oldest of ten children, he was born in Ireland. From the 1870s to the end of the century, Ireland was in a state of civil unrest, during what was called the Land War. Although this was mostly a rural tenant vs. landlord problem, I have no doubt that the people of the city were affected in the food stuffs they were able/unable to purchase and the martial law in effect. The household itself was also in turmoil, as his alcoholic father had difficulty holding a job.

But Joyce, a Catholic, did well in school, especially those run by the Jesuits. He moved to continental Europe after graduation and spent most of the remainder of his life there, returning home as his mother was dying. Although he only spent brief periods in Ireland, his home country is the focus of many of his works, which just goes to prove how much of a writer's childhood impresses his or her writing.

Joyce's first published work was in college. He wrote a review of the Norwegian playwright Henry Ibsen's When We Dead Awaken. Other would-be writers had a similar start, but what makes this anecdote about Joyce so interesting is that he learned basic Norwegian wo write Ibsen a fan letter! And he received a reply in Norwegian, as well.

As with many writers, although supporting himself with his writing was not an immediate possibility. He moved to Franc and studied medicine, but that didn't last. He stayed in France until his mother's death, and then remained for awhile in Ireland, earning money as a singer (he was a strong tenor), teaching, and reviewing books.

In 1904, several changes occurred in Joyce's life. He met and started "stepping out" with Nora Barnacle, he they left Ireland and intended to settle in Switzerland, but ended up first in present-day Italy and then present-day Croatia (both cities at the time were part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire). They stayed there for nearly ten years. Their first child was born in 1904. Many years and moves late, Joyce published a collection of short stories under the title Dubliners. The book was finished in 1906 but wasn't published until 1914.

How long has my novel been sitting in digital limbo? It gives me hope.