Quote:
Originally Posted by A. Baez
To your credit, the poem carries a strong tang of the book, which a poem about a book probably ought to do, and which is an admirable feat in its own right.
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Yes I agree. Your sonnetization of it is a crystallization of it. You may have saved it from its own impenetrability. But its impenetrability is what secures it to its immortal place in literature, I guess.
On the heels of Alexandra's stolid crit of the book itself, I must admit that I muddled through it more than absorbed it at the time I read it. (Everybody was reading it). I stuck with it solely on the fumes of
Portrait of the Artist and
Dubliners which are fantastic imo. Perhaps my opinion would change if I read it now but I'm not about to try.
I personally loved the mirror and razor crossed as well as the first four lines that capture the book's opening so well. The shaving scene at the start of the day n the tower is so heavily symbolic it levitates.
Imo I suggest you hold onto this one and put it where it can get the most exposure to James Joyce/
Ulysses fans. I can imagine it going viral in a universe of Joyce readers.
Strangely, the book itself is relegated to being something of a footnote to your poem for me. It's the ultimate cliff note. I mean that in the best way possible.
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