A VISIT TO JOYCE'S TRIESTE
By STEVEN MCLEOD
IT WAS an unforgettable seven days. Eighty-one James Joyce enthusiasts, of all ages and from all over the world, converged upon Trieste, Italy on June 25 to take part in the 10th annual Trieste Joyce School. Among them were renowned scholars of the Joyce world such as Margot Norris and the venerable Fritz Senn. Others included dedicated Joycean scholars, both young and old with various backgrounds.
Throughout the week, lectures were given at the Museo Revoltella, Trieste's Modern Art Museum. Lectures varied greatly in theme from Dr. Eric Bulson's compelling discussion of Dublin's geography as it is treated in Joyce's works, to Drs. Luca Crispi, Stacey Herbert and Dirk Van Hulle's mutually complimenting presentations on the genetic approach to Joyce.
Crispi and Van Hulle held workshops for those who were especially interested in literary genetics throughout the week. Literary genetics is the study of a work's conception through a close look at its manuscripts and editions. Afternoon seminars were held offering a focussed, discussion-based opportunity to explore Joyce's Dubliners, Ulysses, and Finnegan's Wake.
The week was not, however, exclusively spent in auditoriums and lecture halls discussing literature. We were in Trieste after all! An exciting and bacchantic social program was put together, which allowed us to sample the sights and foods of the culturally rich port city. During several of our nights in Trieste we ate freshly baked pizzas and decadent pastas in charming restaurants.
On one particular night, we traveled to Italy's northern border to an osmiza called Milic, a traditional Slovenian restaurant. We feasted on delicious foods and red wine. Afterwards we sat outside and enjoyed the cool evening in the northern Italian mountains.
The evenings spent singing in dimly lit pubs were by far the most memorable. Vinh Nguyen, Vietnamese translator of Joyce's Portrait, treated us to ballads in his mother tongue. Ron Ewart, who led the seminars on Joyce's Finnegan's Wake, offered us a jolly rendition of the Irish-folk favourite, Molly Malone.
But the star of the show was undoubtedly John McCourt, whose booming tenor voice filled the pub with the sounds of Finnegan's Wake and Love's Old Sweet Song (two of Joyce's favourites). McCourt and Antonio Bibbo, a master's student from Naples, performed a duet of O Solo Mio which received loud applause from all.
Later in the week, as the sun set on the Adriatic and the sky turned a deeper blue, we sat on a covered waterside terrace upon cushioned benches, ate fresh fruit and listened to the poetry of Eamon Grennan. Whether about his own poetry or that of celebrated Italian poets, Grennan was eager to talk with us younger literary scholars and to learn about our academic and artistic ambitions. It was an evening that all will remember and cherish.
By the end of the six days, we 81 people from countries all over the world had become dear friends. The Trieste Joyce School is not only a week long summer school but also a chance for people from Poland, Italy, Belgium, Canada and many other countries to meet, celebrate literature and to make lasting friendships.
John McCourt and Renzo S. Crivelli, published literary scholars and directors of the Trieste Joyce School, have created and perfected over the last 10 years a delightful and inspirational summer program.
It is a chance for Joyce scholars of all levels to come together in a casual but impassioned environment to share ideas and enrich each other's lives both academically and personally. It is a week I will never forget and an experience I hope to repeat at next year's Trieste Joyce School which promises to be just as exciting.
Steven McLeod, one of the 2006 scholarship recipients of the 10th annual Trieste Joyce School, is currently enrolled in the minor for Canadian Irish Studies at Concordia University, Montreal.
[For more information on the Trieste Joyce School visit: www.units.it/~nirdange/school/index.html. For more information on Concordia University's Irish Studies Programmes e-mail: cdnirish@alcor.concordia.ca.]
|
