How to Celebrate Bloomsday

The Modern Library has named James Joyce's "Ulysses" the most important book of the 20th century. Other critics have hailed it as the most important literary work of the millennium. All of the book's action takes place on one day: June 16, 1904. Even if you're not of a literary bent - Irish or otherwise - you can still join in the fun of Bloomsday.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Irish Party Foods
• Irish Whiskey
• Airline Tickets To Dublin

1. Attend a Bloomsday celebration near you. Dublin has the biggest, but dozens of towns throughout the United States and Canada have rousing ones. Many include marathon readings of Ulysses, with local celebrities taking turns reading passages from the epic.
2. Take a tour of Dublin's - or all of Ireland's - literary shrines. Travel agencies, university literature departments and Irish-American cultural groups offer them throughout the year, with many scheduled to coincide with Bloomsday.
3. Hold a Ulysses party. Serve Irish food and drink, play Irish music and have your guests take turns reading from the book.
4. Read the book. Or, if you're new to Joyce, try a more accessible work first. Both "Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man" and the short-story collection "Dubliners" provide good, easy-to-fathom introductions to the Joyce canon.
5. Curl up with a Guinness or a glass of Irish whisky and watch "The Dead" on video. The movie version of a story in Dubliners, it was John Houston's last film, one of the most true-to-the-original movie adaptations of all time, and a perfect introduction to Joyce's work.

Tips & Warnings

• Check the arts and entertainment section of your local paper for Bloomsday listings and peruse our Related Sites.