Scotsman.com News – Entertainment – Arts – Joyce grandson threatens to ban readings at festival:
AS anyone who has ever attempted to read Finnegans Wake will attest, nothing is easy about James Joyce. And now the writer’s home city of Dublin is tied up in knots over its attempts to celebrate the centenary of the day on which his marginally more readable novel Ulysses is set – June 16, 1904.
The city has planned a three-month festival of celebrations costing about £700,000 [US$1.125 million, as of 2/22/2004].
Unfortunately, the only living direct descendant of Joyce has promised to disrupt the festival by banning any public readings of his work.”
Even if you concede that the obstreperous Mr Joyce has the right to protect his grandfather’s works, I would argue that he has the responsibility to see that they are appreciated by a wider audience. And what better opportunity than the centennial of the book’s events?
Cutting off one’s nose to spite one’s face . . .