Bloomsday: why the world celebrates James Joyce's Ulysses on June 16
Each year on June 16, the streets of Dublin turn into a living novel, and Joyceans around the world raise a toast to a literary monument that many have started, few have finished, and none have forgotten. At over 2,65,000 words long, sprawling across 18 episodes and written in a dizzying array of styles, from stream-of-consciousness and newspaper parody to erotic monologue, James Joyce's Ulysses has both enthralled and exhausted generations of readers.
Published in 1922, Ulysses is famously difficult, often topping lists of the 'most unfinished' books in the English language. Its reputation is legendary. Readers joke about stalling at page 46, scholars make careers out of decoding its references, and fans fiercely debate the 'correct' way to read it. And yet, despite — or perhaps because of — its formidable complexity, the novel has inspired an international day dedicated to celebrating it: Bloomsday.
Bloomsday is a celebration of the day on which Ulysses is set: Thursday, June 16, 1904. Named after the novel's protagonist, Leopold Bloom — one of the book's protagonists, who spends the day wandering through Dublin, thinking, observing, remembering, and variety of people and events — it is observed in Dublin and across the world through public readings, walking tours, performances, lectures, and even Edwardian dress-up events.
What sets Bloomsday apart from other literary anniversaries is its immersive, citywide character. Dublin becomes the novel for a day. Fans visiting Dublin can for instance, visit Sweny's Chemist, where Bloom buys lemon soap; walk to Davy Byrne's pub, where he has his iconic gorgonzola sandwich; or stop by Glasnevin Cemetery, featured in the Hades episode among other iconic destinations.
Not just Dublin. In Paris, New York, Melbourne, Trieste and yes, even New Delhi, Bloomsday is commemorated with dramatised readings, theatre, music, and lectures. Literary circles in India, including universities, embassies, and theatre troupes like Kaivalya Plays, have also embraced the day in recent years. As the Irish Embassy in India tweeted this year: 'Bloomsday Mubarak!' Literature lovers gathered for readings from Dubliners, quizzes on Irish writing, and giveaways of Irish books.
Why this date? Joyce chose June 16, 1904 for Ulysses because it was the day he first went walking with Nora Barnacle, the woman who would later become his lifelong partner. It was a deeply personal day for him, and he immortalised it in literature.
The first informal celebration of Bloomsday took place in 1924, and the tradition has only grown since. In 1954, a half-drunken but earnest pilgrimage across Dublin by a group of Irish writers formally marked the 50th anniversary of that fictional day, giving rise to Bloomsday as we know it.
Though the novel takes place in just one day, its scope is vast. Ulysses captures not only the minutiae of Bloom's daily routine: from visiting a funeral to buying a soap, but also dives deep into the thoughts and memories of its characters.
Reactions to the novel, from the beginning, were sharply divided. TS Eliot, the influential poet and critic, hailed it as 'the most important expression which the present age has found,' declaring that it was a book 'from which none of us can escape.' Arnold Bennett, a prominent English novelist and literary critic, found it 'more indecent… than the majority of professedly pornographic books,' but still admired its originality and called Molly Bloom's final monologue 'immortal.' Virginia Woolf, modernist novelist and contemporary of Joyce, was more conflicted. She initially dismissed the book as 'illiterate' and 'underbred,' but later admitted to experiencing 'spasms of wonder, of discovery' amid 'long lapses of immense boredom.'
However, Bloomsday isn't only for experts, bibliophiles or literature professors. It's a celebration of the everyday: walking, eating, thinking, mourning, laughing. Everything that makes us human. Whether you join Dubliners, join a reading group, or just try to recreate a gorgonzola sandwich in Bloom's honour, you will participate in a global tribute.
So the next time June 16 rolls around, maybe raise a toast to Leopold Bloom, to James Joyce, and to the millions who believe that one day in one city can contain the entire world.
Happy Bloomsday!
Aishwarya Khosla is a journalist currently serving as Deputy Copy Editor at The Indian Express. Her writings examine the interplay of culture, identity, and politics.
She began her career at the Hindustan Times, where she covered books, theatre, culture, and the Punjabi diaspora. Her editorial expertise spans the Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh, Punjab and Online desks.
She was the recipient of the The Nehru Fellowship in Politics and Elections, where she studied political campaigns, policy research, political strategy and communications for a year.
She pens The Indian Express newsletter, Meanwhile, Back Home.
Write to her at aishwaryakhosla.ak@gmail.com or aishwarya.khosla@indianexpress.com. You can follow her on Instagram: @ink_and_ideology, and X: @KhoslaAishwarya. ... Read More
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