🌐 ulyssesguide.com

In this episode, we’re delighted to welcome Patrick Hastings, author of the acclaimed Guide to James Joyce’s Ulysses. Patrick has a gift for presenting Joyce’s monumental—and famously challenging—novel in a way that’s accessible, engaging, and intellectually honest. His approach preserves the novel’s complexity, context, and the rich possibilities it offers for interpretation and discussion.

With clarity, humor, and deep insight, Patrick helps readers find a way into Ulysses that feels welcoming and rewarding. The Guide to Ulysses is more than a reading aid—it’s a companion that will stay with you through every future journey into Joyce’s masterpiece.

Whether you're a first-time reader or a seasoned Joycean, this conversation offers tools, perspectives, and inspiration to deepen your engagement with Ulysses—one episode at a time.

Hosted by Cliona O'Farrelly and Mark Sanford Gross

This special episode marks more than just the textual midpoint of Ulysses, where the novel turns toward Oxen of the Sun. It is a threshold moment in the novel. It is also a moment when the mirror turns, too.

Instead of us looking into Ulysses, Ulysses—and something deeper within us—looks back.

Strangers from across ten time zones, connected through the shared journey of reading Ulysses in 80 Days, came together live on a screen for a spontaneous, on-the-spot writing session. No time to prepare. A prompt in the real-time moment and then: GO! WRITE! TIMER SET!

Just five minutes to write about a personal “threshold” moment—raw, unrevised, and real. What surfaced weren’t just stories, but glimpses of truth.

This episode isn’t about studying Joyce. It’s about discovering what Ulysses helps reveal when we meet it halfway.

The Ulysses in 80 project is hosted by Mark Sanford Gross and Clíona O’Farrelly. With deep thanks to the brave writers who stepped forward and shared from the middle.

In this episode, we are In Discussion with Kelly Bryan of Blooms & Barnacles.

In this lively and engaging episode, we sit down with Kelly Bryan, co-founder and co-host of the acclaimed Blooms & Barnacles podcast and blog, dedicated to unraveling the mysteries and joys of James Joyce’s Ulysses. With warmth and wit, Kelly leads us through an organic, free-flowing conversation full of insights, laughter, and sharp observations. She chats with participants, dives into the details of Joyce’s text, and brings her signature spirit to the room.

For more on Kelly’s work, visit bloomsandbarnacles.com.

This episode is part of the Reading Ulysses in 80 Days project, led by Clíona Ó’Farrelly and Mark Sanford Gross, alongside hundreds of curious and passionate readers from around the world.

Join the conversation in the Ulysses in 80 Facebook group and follow us on Bluesky at @Ulysses80.