Showing posts with label Leopold Bloom. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Leopold Bloom. Show all posts

Wednesday, February 2, 2022

‘Bro. Bloom’s anniversary’

    

Nineteen twenty-two was an axial year for English-language literature, and much of the credit belongs to James Joyce for his Ulysses, published in full for the first time on this date a century ago.

For both its style and content, the novel follows the West’s transition into the modern era of world war, global pandemic, broadcast communication, human flight, assembly lines, and other revolutions. To my knowledge, there hadn’t been a story comparable to Ulysses published before. Of course there was Homer’s Odyssey, which inspired Joyce’s overall story arc, but the stories and the styles in which they’re told are as different as the centuries from which they come. I can’t delve into the author’s style here, and I will be selective about his story’s content. I’ll just get to the point: Leopold Bloom, the hero (if that’s the right word) of Ulysses, is said to be a Freemason.

Within the 700 or so pages, there isn’t a passage in the plot or a hint in the character development that puts Bloom on the Square. Rather there are things said about him to juxtapose his otherness (a Jewish man in Dublin) with an alleged social connectivity. To wit:


Nosey Flynn made swift passes in the air with juggling fingers. He winked. He’s in the craft, he said.

Do you tell me so? Davy Byrne said.

Very much so, Nosey Flynn said. Ancient free and accepted order. He’s an excellent brother. Light, life and love, by God. They give him a leg up. I was told that by a—well, I won’t say who.

Is that a fact?

O, it’s a fine order, Nosey Flynn said. They stick to you when you’re down. I know a fellow was trying to get into it. But they’re as close as damn it. By God they did right to keep the women out of it.

Davy Byrne smiledyawnednodded all in one: Iiiiiichaaaaaaach!

There was one woman, Nosey Flynn said, hid herself in a clock to find out what they do be doing. But be damned but they smelt her out and swore her in on the spot a master mason. That was one of the saint Legers of Doneraile.


The story takes place on June 16, 1904, known to us today as Bloomsday, and it is that date that I really consider to be Bro. Bloom’s anniversary. In addition to today being the centenary of the publication of Ulysses, it is the 140th birthday of its author, the daring Mr. Joyce. Vivat!
     

Monday, June 13, 2011

‘Bloomsday to go a Twitter on Thursday’

    
It deserves more attention in Freemasonry, but James Joyce’s novel Ulysses is the story of a man named Leopold Bloom, who happens to be a Freemason. The story is famous, albeit not widely loved, in literature because its plot is patterned after Homer’s Odyssey, the author uses unknown vocabulary and stream-of-consciousness narrative, and the novel was banned and burned for allegedly being obscene until a court decision rendered the novel safe for American readers.

But it is newsworthy this week because all the action in the story takes place on June 16, 1904, known in literary circles as Bloomsday, and this Thursday – Bloomsday 2011 – the entire text of the novel is supposed to be Tweeted on Twitter. I say supposed to be because I don’t know who will text the novel’s approximately 265,000 words, divided into that medium’s 140-characters-per-message format, or why.
    

Friday, July 24, 2009

Starting another great year!

I want to tell you about the progress enjoyed by The Masonic Society, the research and education foundation created last year to serve the Craft in North America.

Since introducing ourselves last May, membership in the Society has grown to nearly 850! Issue No. 5 of The Journal will arrive in our members’ mailboxes in the next two weeks, and our on-line discussion Forum is buzzing with 541 members discussing 2,496 topics. And we’re getting ready for our Semi-Annual Meeting, to take place Oct. 24 in Indianapolis.

For the Magpie Mason, it is especially great to see so many New Jersey Freemasons (46 at last count) joining the Society. Plans are in the works for a local gathering, consisting of a great meal and a thoughtful program to advance our Masonic knowledge. (Members will receive invitations soon.)

The Journal is a quarterly magazine containing Masonic information written by authors from all over the world. Speculative papers, news stories, fiction, poetry, great photography, insightful opinion and other editorial elements reviving the golden age of Masonic publishing.

Features in the new issue include:

The Two Confessions of John Whitney: an examination of the conflicting theories as to the fate of William Morgan by Stephen Dafoe.

Brother Bloom, The Most Influential Mason Who Never Lived by Kenneth W. Davis.

Debunking Reality: Solomon's Temple and the Power of Allegory by Randy Williams.

Multiple Dimensions of Silence in Freemasonry by Shawn Eyer.

The Orders of the Secret Monitor and the Scarlet Cord By Richard L. Gan.

International Conference on the History of Freemasonry 2009 by Christopher Hodapp.

Masonic Treasures: The Washingtons of Donald De Lue by Marc Conrad.

Plus news of current events, info on terrific Masonic events this fall, and other news from around the Masonic world. It is a top quality publication that, frankly, has inspired other national Masonic periodicals to rethink their own operations.

A subscription to this magazine is only one of the benefits of membership. Members are granted access to the Society’s on-line Forum, where hundreds of Masons from around the globe interact every day, helping each other advance in their Masonic knowledge.

And of course it wouldn’t be a Masonic organization without goodies like pins and membership cards, but the Society cranks up the quality of these items, producing elegant symbols of membership that are earning accolades. In addition, each member receives an 11x14 patent, personalized and highly stylized that you'll want professionally framed. It is a very impressive document, on parchment with a hand-stamped wax seal.

But the true benefit of membership in The Masonic Society is the learning experience. Whether it’s an eye-popping topic in the magazine, or just simple conversation in the forum, there is no end to what a Mason can learn from his brethren in this organization. It’s the best 39 bucks I’ve ever spent in Masonry.

Our President is MW Roger VanGorden, Past Grand Master of Indiana. Our Editor-in-Chief is W. Bro. Chris “Freemasons for Dummies” Hodapp. And our Directors, Officers and Founders include many leaders in Masonic education, including authors, publishers, curators, lecturers and more.

Brethren, there is a lot of confusion in the Temple over Freemasonry. ‘Dan Brown this,’ ‘Templar treasure that’ and all kinds of superstitions never should distract the brethren from Truth. The Masonic Society offers one way to uphold Truth with like-minded Masons from all over the world, and have some fun doing it. I hope you’ll check us out.