james joyce

Who’s afraid of James Joyce? Elevator Repair Service takes a tour of ‘Ulysses’

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“Ulysses” may not be James Joyce’s most difficult novel. That distinction would have to go to “Finnegans Wake,” a book that has been described as unreadable even by its most fervent admirers. But “Ulysses,” the modernist novel that changed the course of 20th century literature, is notoriously demanding. The book bested me when I first … Read more

Now streaming, Irish Rep’s ‘Beckett Briefs,’ headlined by F. Murray Abraham, asks the essential questions

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In the program for “Beckett Briefs,” a bill of three short plays by Samuel Beckett at the Irish Repertory Theatre in New York City, three questions are posed: “Why these plays?” “Why now?” And “Why Beckett?” The concise answers put forth by the production’s director, Ciarán O’Reilly, and Irish Rep Artistic Director Charlotte Moore are … Read more