James Joyce: A Literary Life is a short biography of Joyce for the student and general reader. It is the first biography to appear for a number of years (and the first to use all the voluminous materials by and about Joyce which have become widely available during the last two or three decades) of a novelist whom many regard as the most influential writer of the twentieth century, and certainly one of the major figures in world literature.

This book offers the first critical edition of the forty short texts James Joyce called “epiphanies.� Among Joyce’s earliest literary compositions, although published posthumously, the epiphanies are a series of highly polished miniatures, many of which Joyce reused in his later writings. By presenting the epiphanies with background details and thorough annotations, this edition provides a vivid insight into his art. Collected Epiphanies of James Joyce features an introduction to the texts that summarizes Joyce’s concept of epiphany; their biographical and cultural context; their echoes and adaptations in Stephen Hero, Dubliners, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, Ulysses, and Finnegans Wake; and their critical reception and editorial history. Each epiphany is transcribed directly from its original manuscript, accompanied by extensive notes that include more information specific to each piece, as well as textual variants. Styled as prose poems, dramatic sketches, or combinations of the two, the epiphanies can be seen not only as lyrical counterparts to Joyce’s poetry in Chamber Music but also as bridges to the writer’s landmark fiction. This collection demonstrates that the epiphanies offer a paradigm case for studying the development of Joyce’s work as a whole, prompting a reassessment of their literary significance.

""Ulysses" is always lauded as one of western culture's most important books. This collection of essays re-asserts the worth and vitality of Joyce's monumental text, not because it is challenging but because it speaks so powerfully to significant present-day issues: anti-Semitism, film, melodrama, fashion, photography, silenced women, advertising, and more."--Jennifer Fraser, author of "Rite of Passage in the Narratives of Dante and Joyce" June 16, 2004, was the one hundredth anniversary of Bloomsday, the day that James Joyce's novel Ulysses takes place. To celebrate the occasion, thousands took to the streets in Dublin, following in the footsteps of protagonist Leopold Bloom. The event also was marked by the Bloomsday 100 Symposium, where world-renowned scholars discussed Joyce's seminal work. This volume contains the best, most provocative readings of Ulysses presented at the conference. The contributors to this volume urge a close engagement with the novel. They offer readings that focus variously on the materialist, historical, and political dimensions of Ulysses. The diversity of topics covered include nineteenth-century psychology, military history, Catholic theology, the influence of early film and music hall songs on Joyce, the post-Ulysses evolution of the one-day novel, and the challenge of discussing such a complex work amongst the sea of extant criticism.