Giacomo Joyce.
Giacomo Joyce is the link connecting A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man and Ulysses, it pivots between the end of one and the beginning of the second. It is a love poem that is never recited and an attempt by Joyce at the sentimental education of a dark lady, and at the same time this is also his farewell to one phase of his life, whilst at the same time exploring a new form of imaginative expression. It was written in Trieste, possibly around July/August 1914 and was left there by Joyce, later being rescued by his brother Stanislaus, after it was acquired by an anonymous collector
“My words in her mind: cold polished stones sinking
through a quagmire.
Those quiet cold fingers have touched the pages, foul
and fair, on which my shame shall glow for ever. Quiet
and cold and pure fingers. Have they never erred?
Her body has no smell: an odourless flower.
On the stairs. A cold frail hand: shyness, silence: dark
languor-flooded eyes: weariness.”
Giacomo is a beautifully written episode of autofiction, covering an illicit love affair he had in Trieste, it was never published during his lifetime because of potential repercussions.
This book is a short story of 16 pages, it’s a fragment of a dream, it’s a series of sketches, each a love note, a promise, a wish. This book is poetry where desire is the omnipresent deity. But this is desire as reminiscence of past love and of a lost past.
“ Before his death Joyce said he would write something very simple and very short, he was thinking perhaps of how he had solidified the small fragile, transitory perfection of his Triestine pupil into the small, fragile enduring perfection of Giacomo Joyce”
The copy of this book that I have, has an introduction by Richard Ellmann, facsimiles of the notebook pages (16 page story/poem) & notes on the work
. Giacomo" is the Italian form of the author's forename, James
James Joyce(Wiki)
Richard Ellmann(Wiki)
James Joyce(Centre)
Richard Ellmann(Music in the…)
8 comments:
Thanks for sharing this great little gem of a short story. I think its amazing how they couldn't or wouldn't publish it due to the repercussions.
I had never heard of it... Lovely written post!
Hi Lena, thanks for the comment & i think all parties involved were involved elsewhere, hence repercussions.
hi Em, I'd never heard of it, just found it one day in a charity shop.
Hi Tiny library, Thanks for adding me, will follow with interest.
This sounds good!
Hi, I thought I received an entry from you for the poetry spotlight on my blog, but I didn't see an email when I went to look at it later. I didn't see an email address on your blog either. Can you resend it if you did indeed send it. Thanks so very much.
Just wanted to let you know I'm following you now from the Literary Blog Directory. My blog is http://www.bookwormfamily.com/ if you want to check it out.
One day, I will actually have read something you blog about :) In the meantime, at least I will keep learning about writers--and writers who write about writers. Keep 'em coming, Gary!
This, I loved.-->"This book is poetry where desire is the omnipresent deity."
(Sorry for the late comment. Falling a bit behind on the ole Google Reader)
Hi Sheila, yes it's a book that I hadn't come across before but was enchanted by it.
Hello Michelle, welcome and had a quick look, will pop back for a good peruse.
Hi Gina,it works both ways, there's stuff I learn from your site, my favourite book of the year so far was inspired by the oulipo post you did, I think you can guess the book.
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