Academic Explorations...
I have been a tad busy over the last ten years or so. Below, find details of academic publications grouped into various categories of inquiry.
Investigations in Joyce’s poetry (if only the last lyric of his Chamber Music):
“Paul Gregan’s 1901 Sunset Town and Other Poems, a Transcription”, The Bulletin of Tsurumi University, Studies in Foreign Languages and Literature, No. 50, 2013.
This is a full transcription of the only collection of poems by Paul Gregan, a theosophist poet from the Russell circle in turn of the century Dublin. The final poem may have influenced James Joyce in the creation of one of his own poems, the final lyric in Chamber Music. (If anyone is interested in obtaining a physical copy, please feel free to contact me. I will send you one.)
See Publication.
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“Paul Gregan, Irish Poet (1876-1945): a neglected figure from the world of AE, Yeats, and Joyce”, The Bulletin of Tsurumi University, Studies in Foreign Languages and Literature, No. 47, 2010.
This is a follow up paper to my transcription of Gregan's 1901 book of poems. I fill in biographical detail and assess his literary stature.
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"New Light on Lyric XXXVI in Joyce's Chamber Music: The Influences of Paul Gregan and James Clarence Mangan", James Joyce Quarterly Vol. 51.2, 2014 (but published in 2016).
This is an article attempting to re-establish the literary sources of the final poem in lyric XXXVI of Joyce's Chamber Music. The culmination of a near decade-long engagement with Joyce’s poetry and possible sources, particularly in respect to Paul Gregan.
See Publication.
Miscellaneous articles on James Joyce:
“All the Lonely People: Joyce’s Dubliners, Paul McCartney, and the Songbook of The Beatles”, Interdisciplinary Literary Studies, Vol. 19, No.1, Penn State University Press, 2017.
This paper seeks to explore what might be called intriguing commonalities or parallels between some short stories by James Joyce, from his 1914 collection Dubliners, and some songs by The Beatles. I do suggest the possibility of influence, but reserve the bulk of my observations to making connections between narratives which have never been linked in any way before. This exploration allows us to see The Beatles in a new light, yet, not only: this study can also help in the classroom, helping students to come to a better understanding of some particularly challenging areas within Joyce’s narratives. I make linkage between the Beatles songs “For No One” and “She’s Leaving Home” and Joyce’s “Eveline,” in terms of narrative events, tone and compositional approach. I also make a connection between Joyce’s “Clay” and the Beatles’ “Eleanor Rigby”: these narratives share a number of thematic elements. Furthermore, this song can also be seen as containing many of the overarching themes of the 1914 book. As all of the songs under consideration are primarily written by Paul McCartney, I discuss what I see as shared artistic methods and approaches between McCartney and Joyce. See Publication.
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“Digging into Dignam: Onomastic Aspects to Paddy Dignam in Ulysses”, Joycean Japan, The James Joyce Society of Japan, No.17, 2006.
An investigation into one of the minor characters in Joyce’s Ulysses, and how examining his name can uncover authorial intentions in creating him.
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"The Motif of the Hat in Joyce's Ulysses", The Bulletin of Tsurumi University, Studies in Foreign Languages and Literature, No. 43, 2006.
A look at a few of the ways in which Joyce employs the humble hat in his narrative, to indicate a variety of meanings. (Note: it was because of this article, perhaps, that I became a hat-wearing person.)
Medieval Literature Research, on The Awntyrs Off Arthure.
‘Promise-postponement Device in The Awntyrs off Arthure’, Arthurian Literature XXIII, Boydell & Brewer, 2006.
An article on the 15th century poem The Awntyrs Off Arthure, suggesting a new approach to solve the apparent riddle of the poem's bipartite narrative structure.
See Publication.
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“Trentalle Sancti Gregorii, from NLW MS Brogyntyn ii.6: Edited Transcription with Critical Introduction”, Studies in Medieval English Literature, No.26, 2011.
Transcription of a quasi-religious poem from the fifteenth century, linked to The Awntyrs Off Arthure as a source.
See Publication.
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“A Look at the Didactic Literature Context of The Awntyrs Off Arthure”, The Bulletin of Tsurumi University, Studies in Foreign Languages and Literature, No. 49, 2012.
An examination of the literary context of the Awntyrs.
See Publication.
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“The Awntyrs Off Arthure: Beyond the Tapestry”, Hiyoshi Review of English Studies, Keio University, No. 60, 2012.
An analysis of the 15th century Arthurian poem.
See Publication.
Analyses of Seamus Heaney’s poetry:
“An In-Depth Study of ‘Triptych’, from Seamus Heaney’s Field Work”, The Bulletin of Tsurumi University, Studies in Foreign Languages and Literature, No.52 Tsurumi University, 2015.
I examine a poem by Seamus Heaney, from his 1979 collection Field Work, the three-poem sequence ‘Triptych’, which concerns the 1976 killing of the British Ambassador to Ireland by the IRA. I analyze the poem line by line and stanza by stanza, elucidating references and allusions. I also raise questions concerning many of the elements in the poem, leading to an exposure of some of the poem’s weaknesses, and, by extension, the poet’s approach to portraying Ireland’s conflict. While moral outrage against extreme violence is a very reasonable stance for any right-thinking person to take, such an approach within the confines of this poem results in a reduction of the complexities of the historical and societal pressures which brought about the Troubles (out of which this killing was born) in the first place. It also leads to didacticism. The poet seems more focused on expressing 'penitence', presumably for violent acts like the one which inspired this poem, than in addressing the wider context of the conflict. This results in a generalized humanistic approach and outlook, which conflicts with Heaney’s earlier, and aesthetically richer and more nuanced, poetry.
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“Locating Heaney’s poetry: influences and interests: full text of paper read at the 27th International Conference of IASIL Japan, 2010”, The Bulletin of Tsurumi University, Studies in Foreign Languages and Literature, No.48, 2011.
Transcription of a lecture I gave on Seamus Heaney, the famous Irish poet. I ask a few pointed questions about Heaney’s depiction of rural people, which I suggest is not always so three-dimensional.
See Publication.
Articles on TV & Films:
“Star Trek’s Fifty Year Mission: an Essay Celebrating a Cultural Landmark” The Bulletin of Tsurumi University, Studies in Foreign Languages and Literature, No.53, 2016.
This is a semi-academic look at the Original Star Trek TV series, on the occasion of its 50th anniversary.
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“Catching up with Gene Roddenberry’s The Lieutenant, and what it can tell us about Star Trek”, The Bulletin of Tsurumi University, Studies in Foreign Languages and Literature, No.54, 2017.
This is a look at Gene Roddenberry's little-known TV series made prior to Star Trek. It provides an overview and some analysis as to why the series was axed (and consigned to oblivion), and comments on its importance in relation to Star Trek.
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“Literary Investigations into Disney’s ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ Movies”, The Bulletin of Tsurumi University, Studies in Foreign Languages and Literature, No.45, 2008.
An examination of the sources of the films and background on popular perceptions of the pirate. The full article is available on this website.