AUSTIN, Texas—The Department of English at The University of Texas at Austin will host the International James Joyce Conference June 13-17. The event will honor the lifetime achievement of Tom Staley, director of the Harry Ransom Center (HRC), and feature noted poets and scholars such as Paul Muldoon, Vicki Mahaffey and Sean Walsh.
"Few books of the 20th century are held in higher esteem than those of James Joyce," said Alan Friedman, professor of English and conference chair. "We’re delighted to host this gathering of scholars and introduce them to the Ransom Center’s impressive collection of Joyce manuscripts and correspondence."
All of Joyce’s major works have been collected in depth by the HRC, especially "Ulysses," widely considered one of the most important works of Modernist literature. Find more information about the Joyce Collection online.
The following conference events are free and open to the public:
Friday, June 15
- Screening of "Bloom" at 5:30 p.m. in the Texas Union Theater.
This 2004 film adaptation of James Joyce’s "Ulysses" stars Oscar-nominated actor Stephen Rea ("The Crying Game," "Breakfast on Pluto") as Leopold Bloom. - Staged Reading of "Travesties" at 8 p.m. in Mezes Hall Auditorium, Room 1.306.
The Austin Shakespeare Festival offers a staged reading of "Travesties," a play by Tom Stoppard that presents a fictional account of Joyce’s life in Zurich, Switzerland during World War I.
Saturday, June 16
- Reading by Irish poet Paul Muldoon at 4 p.m. in the Texas Union Theater.
Muldoon will read selected poems "written under the spell of Joyce." Born in Northern Ireland, Muldoon won the 2003 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry for his collection, "Moy Sand and Gravel." He is a professor of creative writing at Princeton University.
A campus map is available online. For a detailed schedule of activities, visit International James Joyce Conference.
For more information contact: Alan Friedman, professor, Department of English, 512-471-8376; Jennifer McAndrew, public affairs specialist, College of Liberal Arts, 512-232-4730.
