Thursday, May 1, 2014

You want a timeline? I'll give you a timeline

Actually, it was me who wanted a timeline. We met last night and were caught up in the environs of pages 332-334, and among other things there seemed to be a lot about war, but with some passing reference to the situation of the Jews. I found myself wondering what Joyce understood about what was to befall them in the years to come, and was already beginning to happen then. Finnegans Wake was published in 1939, which means that the book missed most of the actual war, which started in the same year.


Anyway, the idea came up to have an actual timeline of Joyce's life, and I felt sure that I would not have to do this myself as there would be one online somewhere. In this I was correct, and so I'm going to post links to several.


The first comes from the International James Joyce Foundation and is the most concise. It doesn't really go into enough detail to suggest Joyce's comings and goings in the pre-war years, but is a useful overview in brief form.


The Modern Word in contrast covers each year of his life in short paragraph form. It is probably the best for the kind of thing I was wondering last night.


A site called Mantex offers something in between these two extremes.

I suppose a timeline of important events seems obvious until you try to make one.
  

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