Reading Schedule 9/2008-6/2009

James Joyce Society of Sarasota
This group meets at the North Libray on the first and third Wednesday of the month at 10:15AM.
Reading Group Schedule -- 2008 – 2009

Beginning in October we will continue our study of Joyce and Modernism with some interesting comparisons of selected works of his contemporaries and others influenced by him.
Once again we will stress the works of Irish authors, particularly dramatists.

O C T O B E R

In October we hope to gain greater insight into Joyce and his times by considering two quite different works. The first by his brother Stanislaus, who was his closest confidant and critic; the second, a biography of Oliver St. John Gogarty (“Buck Mulligan”) by Ulick O’Connor, a fascinating study of this multi-talented figure.
October 1: My Brother’s Keeper by Stanislaus Joyce
October 15: The Times I’ve Seen: A Biography of Oliver St. John Gogarty
By Ulick O’Connor

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N O V E M B E R and D E C E M B E R

We now turn to an interesting quartet: John McGahern (l934 – 2006), Oscar Wilde (1854 – 1900), George Bernard Shaw (1858 – 1950), and Dylan Thomas (1914 – 1953). [Imagine having them together at your cocktail party!]
McGahern, Wilde and Shaw were born in Dublin; Thomas was born in Swansea, Wales.
[For you trivia astrologists: Wilde, Shaw, and Thomas died in November, and none in his
native country; McGahern was born in Dublin (November) and died in Dublin.]
The McGahern novel we have chosen to discuss drew immediate raves and comparisons with the young Joyce. Oscar Wilde’s lengthy letter and poem (among his last works) show a
different side of this remarkable celebrity of his time. Shaw’s play was rejected by the Abbey Theatre, so we chose not to include it with our January group. The Dylan Thomas short story is a Christmas classic and one of the most beautiful in our language—we will compare it to certain passages from Joyce’s stories.
November 5: Amongst Women by John McGahern
November 19: De Profundis and “The Ballad of Reading Gaol” by Oscar Wilde
December 3: John Bull’s Other Island by George Bernard Shaw
December 17: “A Child’s Christmas in Wales” by Dylan Thomas


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J A N U A R Y and F E B R U A R Y


On February 2nd, Joyce’s birthday, we once again have an enjoyable celebration planned. This year our guests will be two artists from the Performing Workshop Theatre in Baltimore—
Sam and Joan McCready. Sam McCready has written and directed Coole Lady, a one-woman one-act play about Lady Augusta Gregory. Joan McCready will portray this fascinating literary legend who was a co-founder of the Abbey Theatre and counted among her friends Yeats, Synge, Shaw, O’Casey, and so many others.


In preparation for this celebration, we have the Birthday event and three reading sessions around the theme of the Abbey Theatre – plays actually produced there.

January 7: William Butler Yeats: One-Act Plays:
“Cathleen Ni Houlihan”
“On Baile’s Strand”
January 21: Lady Augusta Gregory: One-Act Plays:
“Spreading the News”
“The Rising of the Moon”

February 2: Joyce’s Birthday Event
Featuring
Coole Lady
With Joan McCready as Lady Gregory
Written and Directed by
Sam McCready

February 4: J. M. Synge: “Riders to the Sea”


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F E B R U A R Y and M A R C H


Our next three authors we call the Three Irish B’s :
Bowen, Behan, and Beckett
Three very different Irish writers who explored life and literature in most diverse ways.
February 18: Elizabeth Bowen: The Last September
March 4: Ringling Library Lecture March 18: Samuel Beckett: “Krapp’s Last Tape” and other short plays



A P R I L and M A Y


In April we return to William Faulkner. We had to postpone our reading of his novel As I Lay Dying from last season because of scheduling problems. However, we did read two of his short stories, “A Rose for Emily” and “Barn Burning.” The latter aptly sets the stage for the novel:
April 1: William Faulkner: As I Lay Dying
April 15: Brendan Behan “ The Quare Fellow" “ “
May 6: Conor McPherson: The Weir
May 20: TBA

NOTE: For eight of the selections to be discussed [Yeats, Lady Gregory, J. M. Synge,
G. B. Shaw, Brendan Behan, Samuel Beckett] we will be using

Modern Irish Drama: Edited by John Harrington
New York: W. W. Norton & Company
[available used copies through Amazon Books
or Barnes & Noble websites]

[copies of the other selections are also available as
used copies from Amazon and B&N]