Worcester County Poetry Association
Established 1971
Worcester County Poetry Association /1 Ekman Street, Worcester, MA 01607 / 508-797-4770 / wcpaboard@yahoo.com
BLOOMSDAY WORCESTER
Great links for Joyce, Ulysses and Bloomsday!
An excellent Kennesaw State University site explaining the action of Ulysses episode by episode - a great place to begin for newbies!
This site, created by
Tony Thwaites of The University of Queensland, Queensland, Australia,
offers modern day photos illustrating sites in Ulysses and Joyce's life.
is maintained by Aida Yared. Using historic photos, newspapers, advertising, postcards and an amazing amount of research, 1904 Dublin as Joyce experienced it
is brought to life.
This site, created by Michael Groden, University of Western Ontario, Canada, explains plot and characters chapter by chapter, adding interesting
Homeric parallels and other commentary.
Allen Ruch created and maintains these Joyce pages within the website
Have a favorite?
Send us the link.
Welcome to Bloomsday Worcester!
Click the date links to view photos
and Worcester Ramble itineraries
of Bloomsdays past.
To volunteer for the Bloomsday
planning group, to make suggestions
The Worcester Ramble
What?
Bloomsday is an annual ramble where participants read through various parts of James Joyce's Ulysses. Lots of cities around the world have been holding some sort of Bloomsday celebration for decades. The Worcester version involves readings in several locations approximating the sites visited by the characters of the novel in their own ramble through Dublin, June 16, 1904.
Who?
The day features a changing cast of characters - much like Ulysses. Everyone is welcome to read or listen. Some participants drop in for one or two sessions and those with more stamina (and free time) will make a day & night of it. Although lectures and performances are incorporated into the Worcester programming leading up to June 16, Bloomsday itself is a celebration of participatory readings - and that's half the fun!
Why?
WCPA celebrates the spoken word, the written word, and the literary history of Worcester - or makes history by starting a new Worcester tradition like Bloomsday. Sometimes, one of our members has a passion for a particular author or literary event like Bloomday and the entire community is welcome to join in. We've had a lot of fun doing this over the years. If anyone has comments about past Worcester Bloomsday celebrations, we'd be happy to post them. Just email us!
Where & When?
We try to add new sites each year while revisiting perennial favorites like Ben Franklin's. Our outdoor sites don't always have seating, so you might want to bring along a chair. There are no admission fees for these sites but you have to pay for your own meals. (Except the tea & scones - those are on Don Reid! Buy a book instead.) The episodes we plan to read at each site are listed. Always check back on June 15 for last minute schedule updates!
Joyce events, readings and Worcester Ramble past sites:
Bancroft Tower
Belfry Restaurant
Ben Franklin Bookstore
Bijou Cinema (long gone)
Callahan Brothers Funeral Home
City Hall Common
City Square Park
Coney Island Hot Dog
Dark Horse Tavern at 12 Crane
Fiddler's Green
First Unitarian Church
Irish Times
JCC Healthcare Center
McFadden's
N.O.W. Book Group at Barnes & Noble
PASOW at Chatham Street (long gone)
Poetry Oasis at Cool Beans (long gone)
River Run at 12 Crane
Rural Cemetery
Stanley Kunitz Childhood Home
Street Beat at Vasa Hall
Tatnuck Books-Worcester (long gone)
Tweed's Pub & Restaurant
Union Station
Vasa Hall
Worcester Art Museum
City Council Chambers-Worcester City Hall
Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Worcester Public Library
Worcester Storytellers at Vasa Hall
Worcester Telegram & Gazette
Sites we've forgotten? Let us know!
Worcester Bloomsday FAQs
What does the WCPA Bloomsday Committee do? The committee is charged with setting the itinerary for June 16. We think about where we've been, where we'd like to go next and spend a lot of time thinking about what hasn't worked in the past and why. (Bars sound good in theory but they can be very noisy and dark.) Once we have a workable itinerary, we match the readings to the location. And before we advertise the locations or post them to the website, we visit each site. We also plan other activities, which vary from year to year, like films and lectures. Then we update the website, design and print flyers, notify the press and hope for good weather.
Can I participate if I haven't read the book? Absolutely! Every year, people say they will read the whole book before the next Bloomsday....but they never get around to it. No problem. Enjoy the celebration of language - there won't be a test.
"Ulysses Page Finder" - What's that? Joyce didn't include chapter numbers
or titles for the different sections of Ulysses. What we have are "episodes" which more or less parallel The Odyssey. Also, there are many editions of Ulysses in print. For example, Episode 4: Calypso starts on page 81 in some editions, page 54 in others. You can print the page finder and check it against your own volume.
Do I need to own a copy Ulysses to participate? No, you don't need a copy - lots of folks will share their own copies with you so you can follow along or join in the reading. And there's always the public library!
Does it cost anything? Do I need to be a WCPA member? No and no. Everyone is invited to participate and the places we visit do not have admission fees. We would love to have you join the WCPA to show your support for the organization but it isn't a requirement. Just show up. No cost, no registration, no strings. You will have to buy your own food if you participate during the mealtime readings.
I have to work that day - can I just come during lunch or after work? Yes, please stop by one of the sites during the day, even if it's just for an hour or so. It's very informal. We try to keep to the schedule, so you can generally find us more or less where we say we're going to be.
Need more information? There are many good websites describing the book and the Bloomsday phenomenon. Some are listed on this page. If you know of a good one we should add, please let us know.
