James Joyce, happy birthday! Here are some of his writing quotes: From the novel "James Clarence Mangan" (1902): "Poetry, even at its most surreal, is always a protest against artifice, a revolt, in some ways, against reality." And from the preface to that same book: "Imagination will never be realised until it is within everyone's power to create anything their mind can conceive or their heart desire." And finally: "Imagination is the creator of gods and men."
These quotes capture quite well the essence of Joyce's work as a whole. His poems, essays, and novels all focused on exploring and understanding human consciousness, and especially the relationship between imagination and reality. He was one of the first modern writers who tried to do justice to both poetry and prose, and who believed that artists need to be political if they are to be taken seriously.
Here are some more quotes about Joyce's work and life: "I am a bundle of impulses that try to write themselves down" - he said this in a interview when he was asked what kind of writer he was
- and it's true. Even though he was famous for being difficult, Joyce was also known for being extremely honest and direct. He hated waste words and empty phrases, which is why we often get straight to the point in his work.
James Augustine Aloysius Joyce was an Irish novelist, short story writer, poet, teacher, and literary critic who lived from 2 February 1882 to 13 January 1941. He was a member of the modernist avant-garde movement and is considered as one of the twentieth century's most influential and essential writers. His work introduced new ways of looking at the world through his use of stream of consciousness writing, allusions to other texts, and extensive use of language experimentalism.
He was born in Dublin but grew up in London because of his father's job as a clerk with the Post Office. When he was eight years old, his family returned to Ireland, where he spent the rest of his childhood. He studied at Trinity College, Dublin, but was expelled for participating in student protests against the teaching of German in Ireland. After this incident, he never attended another school again.
Joyce began publishing poems in magazines when he was still a student. One of these poems, "Araby", won first prize in 1890. It is regarded as the first modernist poem. In 1896, he published his first novel, Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. The book was an immediate success and made him famous. It has been translated into more than 30 languages and is still read today.
In 1904, he released another successful novel, Ulysses.
But it wasn't the only problem for Joyce in the spring of 1940. He was devastated that the war had occurred so soon after the publication of his masterwork, "Finnegans Wake." Joyce is quoted as saying, "They had best hurry." "War will erupt, and no one will be reading my work anymore."
Joyce's wife, Nora, said he was also concerned that England might lose its independence if it joined the war. She reported that he told her people were not ready for such a monumental change and that they should wait until after the war before deciding what role, if any, Ireland would play within the new order.
He also may have been worried about money. In April 1940, Joyce applied for British citizenship because the war had made it difficult for him to earn a living in Ireland. The application was rejected because there were still ways to earn money in wartime Britain without becoming a citizen. However, Joyce later received an offer from an American publisher to translate all of Homer's works into English. This offer may have relieved some of his financial concerns because it meant he would no longer need to rely on royalties from "Ulysses" for income.
Finally, it has been suggested that Joyce was worried about the effect the war might have on his health. His friend Edward O'Brien wrote that Joyce feared he might get sick again and die soon after reporting his fears to O'Brien.
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