Tag: europe

On page 69 of Finnegans Wake we read:

“Now by memory inspired, turn wheel again to the whole of the wall. Where Gyant Blyant fronts Peannlueamoore There was once upon a wall and a hooghoog wall a was and such a wall- hole did exist.”, transcribed in HCEK p. 85 as: “Once, inspired by memory, turn the wheel again to witness the grandeur of the entire wall. Where Tyrant Blunt confronts Penn-lie-more, there once existed a majestic, towering wall, adorned with a magnificent wall hole.”

These fragments are referring to a very real pub in the vicinity of Phoenix Park, known as The Hole in the Wall (formerly known as Black Horse Tavern). The Hole in the Wall pub is located in the district of Ashtown just north of Phoenix Park, and the phrase “turn wheel again” refers to the turnstile (or turnpike) set in a hole in the adjacent Phoenix Park wall.

In Finnegans Wake, the door serves as a threshold between wakefulness and deep sleep, symbolizing a gateway. The book itself is likened to a door or gate, with Joyce’s sigla resembling a portal. The gate is guarded by two giant pencils, reminiscent of obelisks, which represent duality and harmony in Egyptian culture. This duality mirrors the themes of unity and opposites present in Finnegans Wake which this publication places into the context of Dharma and Karma, which are cyclical Asiatic philosophical principles.

The Lithuanian artist Benediktas Gylys gave recently this Joycean gate theme a modern interpretation by installing next to the writer’s statue in Dublin an audiovisual live-link that connects it to New York.

The portal is set to become a fixture of Dublin’s streetscape throughout the summer and runs until the autumn. In the coming months, there will be cultural performances at each city’s portal to be enjoyed by people in the other city via the livestream. From July, the Dublin portal will also connect to other global city destinations in Poland, Brazil and Lithuania.

Though it might, from a commercial point of view, not be the wisest decision to launch a book in a pub instead of in a book store, the choice of this location wants to illustrate how the novel is embedded in the local folklore and its surrounding area.

On the 11th of June of 2024 “Here Comes Everybody’s Karma” will be launched at the Hole in the Wall Pub nearby Phoenix Park in Dublin between 6 – 8pm.