Bloomsday at Betsy’s Hotel
By Mariam Chanishvili
Wednesday, June 19
Bloomsday celebration, which takes place both in Ireland and around the world, took place in Tbilisi at Betsy’s Hotel on June 16. This year’s Bloomsday is the third one taking place in Tbilisi. The tradition of its celebration in Georgia was established in Kutaisi 5 years ago.
The day celebrates 16 June 1904, a day described in James Joyce’s novel Ulysses and is called after Leopold Bloom, the central character in Ulysses. The novel follows the life and thoughts of Leopold Bloom and a host of other characters – real and fictional – from 8 am on 16 June 1904 through to the early hours of the following morning.
Usually, Bloomsday celebration features artists and public figures doing the reading, and live music performed throughout the day. It gathers literary set to celebrate James Joyce.
The event was supported and organized by Artanuji Publishing, Tbilisi State University and Consulate of Ireland.
Honorary Consul of Ireland to Georgia, Jeffrey Kent, Director of the Institute of West European Languages and Literature at Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University, Manana Gelashvili and the Owner of Hotel Betsy’s and Prospero’s Books, Steve Johnson, talked about the importance of Bloomsday and James Joyce’s literature.
Public reading were given by writer and diplomat Gela Charkviani , writer Dr. Zurab Karumidze, Prof. Manana Gelashvili, honorary consul Jeffrey Kent, translator of Joyce’s books Dr. Tamar Gelashvili and a group of students of English Philology.
Jeffrey Kent said that it is very important and interesting to be involved in a cultural event. He also noted that one of the biggest surprises was to find out how well Professor Gelashvili’s students at TSU were familiar with Joyce’s works.
Traditional Irish songs that feature in the writings of James Joyce were performed By Fran O'Rourke, emeritus professor of UCD. He performed “the Ballad of Finnegans Wake” as a conclusion.
Recital by Prof. Fran O’Rourke was followed by a discussion about the importance of Joyce’s novel and work. He noted that the novel is constructed as a modern parallel to Homer’s Odyssey.
“Joyce paralleled Leopold Bloom’s actions with those of Odysseus. Certain parts are given a universal context. Joyce wanted to bring in all of literature, all of history and to somehow resent it in a particular place, on a particular day, June 16. It has a universal appeal, that the hero is an ordinary citizen,” he said.
Artanuji Publishing House made a presentation on the recent publications of Joyce’s works into Georgian: Chamber Music, Dubliners, The Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man, Selected Letters, Exiles, Giacomo Joyce.
Finally, new projects were announced: namely, the international conference Joyce and the World to be held by the end of September at Tbilisi State University and the publication of Book I of Finnegans Wake in May 2020.
