Image credit: Lauren Simkin Berke
Fan Mail
I loved the spring issue, particularly JoAnn Greco's article about Ulysses "Unlocking Ulysses". It's my favorite novel, taking me to Dublin one Christmas to walk through Bloomsday. Keep up the good work. Your magazine is my favorite.
Jack Horton, A&S '67 Arlington, Virginia
A Glaring Omission
I enjoyed "Unlocking Ulysses" in the spring issue of the magazine, especially the material concerning Patrick Hastings and his recent book, The Guide to James Joyce's 'Ulysses.' I can recommend that book for its straightforward explication of the book's 18 chapters and major innovations.
And yet I concluded the article in a state of disbelief. When I was a grad student in the Writing Seminars in the late '70s, I was fortunate to find a little time to sit in on Professor Hugh Kenner's seminar on Joyce. The late Kenner was and remains an internationally recognized authority on modernism, well known for his magisterial The Pound Era and his many books on Irish literature, Joyce himself, and in particular, Ulysses.
It seems impossible that you and Douglas Mao, current chair of JHU's English Department, could be unaware of Kenner's importance, especially considering Hastings' stated reliance in his book on some of Kenner's perceptive and beautifully stated ideas (see "The Uncle Charles Principle"). And yet there is no mention of him in the article.
Your readers should know that, through its support for the teaching and writing of such a brilliant critic as Professor Kenner, the university has contributed to the world's appreciation of challenging texts such as Ulysses and to the success of people like Hastings.
James F. McMenamin, A&S '78 (MA) Towson, Maryland
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The opinions in these letters do not necessarily reflect the views of the magazine's editorial staff.
