Love, says Bloom – Exhibition

Curated by Nuala O’Connor at Museum of Literature Ireland, St. Stephen’s Green, Dublin.

Into the heart of the Joyce Family
2 February – 3 July 2022

https://moli.ie/lovesaysbloom/

—Love, says Bloom looks at the deep love between Irish writer James Joyce, his wife Nora Barnacle, and their children Giorgio and Lucia, using music as a steadfast element in their lives. Giorgio trained as a singer, Lucia was an accomplished dancer, and all four Joyces often sang at the piano, with friends, for both celebration and succour.

The Joyces lived in a war-ruptured early twentieth-century Europe – in Pola, Trieste, Zürich, and Paris – and their native Ireland was also up-ended by division. In this exhibition, curator Nuala O’Connor celebrates the Joyce’s mutual devotion, alongside some of the music that bound them, while their world was in flux.

Curator Nuala O’Connor was born in Dublin in 1970 and lives in County Galway. Her fifth novel NORA (Harper Perennial/New Island, 2021), about Nora Barnacle, wife and muse to James Joyce, was named as a Top Ten historical novel by the New York Times in 2021. Nuala is editor at flash fiction e-journal Splonk. nualaoconnor.com

One Dublin One Book Programme

Dublin UNESCO City of Literature are delighted to announce their programme of events for this year’s One Dublin One Book which features NORA: A Love Story of Nora Barnacle and James Joyce by Nuala O’Connor (New Island Books), following on from Leonard and Hungry Paul by Rónán Hession in 2021.

One Dublin One Book aims to encourage everyone in Dublin to read a designated book connected with the capital city during the month of April every year. This annual Dublin City Council initiative, supported by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, encourages reading for pleasure. 

There will be discussions, readings, music performances, film screenings, book club events and lots more during the month in various venues across the city as well as in Dublin City Libraries, DLR Libraries, Fingal Libraries, South Dublin Libraries, and drawing on the connection with Nora’s home county, a special event by Galway Public Libraries, will take place on 1^st April. There will also be One Dublin One Book events in London, Warsaw and Monaco. RTÉ Radio One’s The Book on 1 will feature NORA by Nuala O’Connor over 10 nights in April.

‘I’m honoured and humbled that Dublin City Council has chosen NORA as its One Dublin One Book read for 2022, the Ulysses centenary year. I imagine Nora Barnacle would be as pleased as I am to see her contribution to the life and work of James Joyce celebrated in this way. I’m a proud Dub and this wonderful opportunity has me really looking forward to engaging with library users and readers, all over my home city, in April.’ says Nuala O’Connor.

Dublin’s Lord Mayor, Alison Gilliland, who launched the programme at EPIC The Irish Emigration Museum said “Dublin City Council’s One Dublin One Book initiative is a creative and inclusive way to get all our citizens reading.  With copies of NORA by Nuala O’Connor available to borrow for free in physical, e-book and e-audio versions throughout our public library network, it just remains for the people of Dublin and beyond to enjoy this brilliant book about Nora Barnacle and James Joyce.’

Dublin City Librarian, Mairead Owens, says “Every year we choose a book that we hope will capture the imaginations of the people of Dublin, of all ages and walks of life, and I know that NORA will prove a rewarding reading experience for all who engage with One Dublin One Book 2022. For the centenary of the publication of Ulysses, it’s important for us to honour the contemporary writers Joyce has inspired, as well as the woman who inspired him. With the help of our many wonderful partners, we have created a programme of events this April that we hope will encourage many discussions and conversations.”

Hundreds of copies of NORA have been purchased by Dublin City Libraries and are available to borrow from all public libraries nationwide, and on e-book and e-audio format through the free BorrowBox library app. The new One Dublin One Book edition of NORA is also available to buy from all good book shops. The National Council for the Blind Ireland have created a Braille version of the book. NORA is available in fully accessible digital formats (EPUB, BRF (Braille Ready File), DAISY and Word) from the NCBI Bookshare Ireland platform.

http://www.onedublinonebook.ie/whats-on/