How about some Joyce for the 2022 European Cultural Show?

Could the European People's Festival do with some Joyce for the Cultural Show?

Since moving to Spain, I have come to appreciate the works of James Joyce, first through my friend Séamus MacAogáin and readings in the James Joyce bar and later through the Bloomsday Society in Madrid who meet monthly in El Ateneo Theatre and I wonder if we could incorporate James Joyce and Bloomsday into the cultural show of the European Festival when the festival takes place in the centenary year 2022?

Rather than performing song and dance, why not take the passages of Ulysses in different languages where we source some James Joyce pieces for our European friends to follow.

Short and sweet is key to the success of any performance but rather than performing an act on stage, why not bring our European friends on stage with pieces of Joyce to recite in their own languages?

First, what languages do we need for the European Festival?

French, German, Finnish, Danish, Polish, Portuguese, Italian, Slovenian, Hungarian, Lithuanian, Latvian and Spanish.

While it might be difficult to recite Joyce in Luxembourgish and Flemish and Irish, imagine a passage in German for Belgians and Germans and Luxembourgers to enjoy. Imagine a passage in French for the French, Belgians, and Luxembourgers to enjoy and can you imagine a piece in Polish and another in Italian? James Joyce spoke 17 languages so surely we can offer a taste of Irish culture without us ever speaking a word in English.

Ni una palabra en ingles, solo una idea pero intereste.

(Not one word in English, just an idea but interesting)

Supported by

UNESCO City of Literature