Have been re-thinking the shape of my project for reading Joyce's Finnegans Wake in retirement. After reading a piece in the Graun about a reading club dedicated to the great epic of the night it occurred to me, after sharing the article with Boon, who assumed I was suggesting starting something of the same myself, that a version of the club based in this Far Place (Singapore At The Wake) would be fun but unlikely to attract more than two members - myself and a very reluctant Mr Boon. But what was doable would be a quick, essentially largely uncomprehending read-through of the Wake prior to retirement and then begin the great read-through over a span of 29 years, posting on-line about it, and sort of dragging in anyone who got interested to critique the posts, as well as reading the book.
All of this sounds a bit crazy, but then so does the novel, of course.
(By the way, if there are any enthusiasts out there who think Singapore At The Wake has legs, do let me know. But I'm not thinking of making this work on Zoom, as Boon was sort of suggesting, as I can't imagine debating/interpreting/chanting/enjoying the text in any fewer than three dimensions.)
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