I had a dream last night that, while explaining to someone the wonders of Ulysses, I took out and showed them my most priced possession: a small letter from Nora Barnacle…

The Hollow Crown: Henry IV, Part 1 (Preliminaries)

Update: My work here is done, people – I am retiring from blogging on this high note!

I did get a chance to watch BBC’s second installment of Shakespeare’s “history plays” last weekend – The Hollow Crown – but I went back and reread the play and I think that it is definitely an odd one. It is a play that is not primarily about Henry IV (read the play here). Most of it is about Henry V and Falstaff (and partially about Harry Percy and even less about the rebellion). My academic instinct tells me I must read what Harold Bloom thinks about it or something, but I’m too lazy to do a proper Shakespearean research paper here. Here are some quick amateur remarks then:

Nabokov’s Autobiographical Sketches

I recently started reading Nabokov’s rather old collection of autobiographical essays, covering various aspects of his life, but not of his works.

I have to say that I am rather taken with it. It is extremely well-written and provides such a vivid account of the events and circumstances that one has to remind oneself that this is not a fictional account (although it, of course, is as any autobiographical account). I knew bits of the story but I think this has been a real discovery. 

Why You Should Read Ulysses

Here is my Bloomsday “unsolicited advice” entry.