Joyce-athon A Success!

On Saturday, June 16 2012, the Hong Kong International Literary Festival held a 10-hour session of readings from James Joyce's Ulysses in celebration of Bloomsday from noon until around 10pm. 

So what is Bloomsday?  Bloomsday is held annually on June 16 for the purpose of commemorating and celebrating the life and works of the Irish writer James Joyce.  Every Bloomsday, the events of Joyce's chef-d'oeuvre - Ulysses -  are relived.  Ulysses chronicles the passage of Leopold Bloom, the book's protagonist (from which the name of the fesetival is derived), through the city of Dublin throughout the day of June 16, 1904.  Joyce chose to set his novel on this specific day for it was the date of his first outing with Nora Barnacle, Joyce's wife-to-be.  Bloomsday is observed in Dublin and in many other countries across the globe.
 

Despite the rainy weather, many avid readers and listeners came out to support the Festival's first ever Bloomsday event.  In addition to the fantastic readings (some enhanced by authentic Irish accents), participants enjoyed lovely Joyce music, warm Joyce chat, and delectable Jameson whiskey sponsored by Pernod Ricard.  The Festival was honored to have Harry O'Neill, the Honorary Consul of Ireland to Hong Kong, say a few words at this very Irish event. 

Visit our Facebook page for event photos.

For those who missed out on the bona-fide Irish atmosphere, have no fear! The 2012 Hong Kong International Literary Festival, which will be held from the 5th to the 14th of October, will be bringing you Irish writers John Boyne and Colm Toibin.

A little bit about John Boyne and Colm Toibin:

John Boyne was born in Joyce's hometown of Dublin.  He is the author of the highly acclaimed novel The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, which was made into an award-winning Miramax film.  His more recent works include Noah Barleywater Runs Away (2010), The Absolutist (2011), as well as The Terrible Thing that Happened to Barnaby Brocket, which will be published in the UK, Australia and Ireland in August 2012.  His novels are published in 45 languages. 


Colm Toibin was born in Enniscorthy, Co. Wexford and is the author and co-author of over 24 fiction, non-fiction and short story books.  His works include The Master (2004), Brooklyn (2009), New Ways to Kill Your Mother (2012) and The Empty family (2010).  He is regarded by critics as having excelled at the many literary forms he has experimented with and is a regular contributor to the Dublin Review, the New York Review of Books and the London Review of Books.  In 2006 he was appointed to the Arts Council in Ireland.