Thursday, July 21, 2005

ODing on Joyce

The dangers of over-involvement with one's dissertation texts:

First, I dreamed I was Eileen Clery ('E.C' from A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man). I was in love with Stephen Dedalus and followed him up and down Clanbrassil Street, carrying my carpet bag. The dress I wore was a little too '30s for the time period, but dreams are not really about accuracy--or, at least, not that kind of accuracy.

Then, next I must have been Lucia Joyce, because Joyce, in a vest, was my Papa. He hugged me with relish, in a restaurant washroom with mirrors. But he was distant, even as he was fond.

Then, my friend Shelley showed me the groovy stickers she'd designed for each episode of Ulysses. She wrote me a check for $50 because I'd actually read the book.

As I slept fitfully and dreamed each of these sequences, it was as if I were helping to write or construct Ulysses in my sleep. A lot of the phrases kept recurring; I kept waking up; and I felt, in the morning, as if I had worked very hard all night long.

3 Comments:

Blogger Michaela said...

Constructing Ulysses in your sleep WOULD be a lot of work -- no wonder you felt like you'd worked very hard all night! :)

July 21, 2005 2:48 PM  
Blogger cookie723 said...

BABE! Loved this post...I felt like working right alongside you! :)
Had SUCH a great time last night...I'll post about it soon :)xoxox

July 22, 2005 11:57 AM  
Blogger cookie723 said...

OK - how do I love you? Your comment on my blog rocked. So do you. :) Keep your nose to the grindstone of writing, my friend!

July 22, 2005 1:38 PM  

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