“Zoomsday” - A Virtual Celebration of James Joyce’s Ulysses

Wednesday, June 16th at 6pm EST

 The celebration will begin with a live-online theatrical performance of an excerpt from United States v. One Book Called Ulysses, a new play by Colin Murphy inspired by the greatest literary trial of the twentieth century! Colin, director Conall Morrison and members of the cast will join us live from Dublin to share this funny and dynamic retelling of the Woolsey Judgement of 1933. An earlier version of the play, commissioned by the Joyce Centre in Dublin, was described as a “brilliantly staged” and “masterful adaption” of the trial creating an “illusion of reality over Zoom” which is “undeniably exciting”, despite “originating from a lawsuit”! (University Times). This new version has been commissioned by the Irish national broadcaster, RTÉ. (See www.rte.ie/dramaonone).

 The famous decision by Judge John M. Woolsey (5 F. Supp. 182 (S.D.N.Y. 1933)) is frequently cited as an erudite and discerning affirmation of literary free expression, and portrays James Joyce’s role in forging and solidifying First Amendment protections in the United States.

 Our keynote speaker will be Professor Catherine Flynn, University of California Berkeley, Department of English, who will deliver a talk titled “The Sounds of Ulysses”. Judge Woolsey wrote that Ulysses is “a powerful commentary on the inner lives of men and women” and, in this talk, Catherine will explore the graphic sounds through which Ulysses gives voice to aspects of those inner lives hitherto considered unrepresentable in literature.

 Catherine is Director for Irish Studies and the author of James Joyce and the Matter of Paris (Cambridge UP) a book which has been described as an “engaging, ambitious, thoroughly researched study that makes a significant contribution to transnational reassessments of Irish literature” (2020 ACIS Robert Rhodes Prize for Books on Literature Honorable Mention). Catherine, who will join us live from Northern California, specializes in British and Irish modernist literature in a European avant-garde context and is currently working on The Cambridge Centenary Ulysses: The 1922 Text with Essays and Notes, and a volume titled New Joyce Studies: Twenty-First Century Critical Revisions.

Live music befitting the occasion will be provided by Iain Dove Lempke and members of Dorain, who will join our virtual celebration from Minneapolis, Minnesota.

There is no charge for registering for this event.

IABANY is extremely grateful to Consilio for their generous sponsorship of this event (IABANY’s eleventh celebration of Bloomsday).  

Consilio is a global leader in eDiscovery, document review, risk management, and legal consulting services. Through its Consilio Complete suite of capabilities, the company supports multinational law firms and corporations using innovative software, cost-effective managed services, and deep legal and regulatory industry expertise.

IABANY has been in existence since 1987. It is a professional organization dedicated to connecting, serving and celebrating New York’s legal professionals who are Irish born, of Irish heritage or simply interested in things Irish. IABANY  inaugurated the Bloomsday celebration in 2009 at the American Irish Historical Society to resounding success. The centerpiece of the evening was the John Quinn Memorial Address. Over the years, it has featured an illustrious list of keynote speakers, including Susan Buckley, Judge John Gleeson, Dean Kathleen Sullivan, Irish Supreme Court Justice Adrian Hardiman, Second Circuit Judge Gerard Lynch, Lynn Oberlander (General Counsel of Media Operations for First Look Media and former General Counsel at the New Yorker), Second Circuit Judge Reena Raggi, New York Times Deputy General Counsel David McCraw, Caitlin Halligan (former Solicitor General of New York State), and Irish Times journalist and author of An Irishman’s Diary, Frank McNally. More information on the history of the event is available here: https://www.iabany.org/bloomsday-history