Bloomsday – the festival in honour of Irish writer James Joyce, his novel Ulysses and its protagonist Leopold Bloom – is celebrated worldwide on 16 June. In Belgium, Joyceans have celebrated Bloomsday in Ostend since 2022 (the 100th anniversary of the publication of Ulysses) with art exhibitions, music, lectures, an open mic and a picnic on the beach.
Ulysses is arguably the greatest modernist novel of the twentieth century. It chronicles the experiences of three Dubliners (one of whom is called Leopold Bloom, hence ‘Bloomsday’) over the course of a single day, 16 June 1904. Written in a variety of styles, Ulysses is a high-wire act of literature, drawing parallels throughout with Homer's epic poem the Odyssey and emphasizing the mythic and mystic in the experience of everyday life.
The action in Ulysses takes place mostly on a single day – 16 June 1904. Joyce chose this day to commemorate his first date with his future wife, Nora Barnacle; a date that culminated in what Irish writer Paul Murray refers to as "the most celebrated hand job in all of literature". It’s in keeping with the irreverent and provocative tone of the novel, and also with the good humour and sociability that are the hallmarks of Bloomsday celebrations the world over.
James Joyce spent a happy summer in Ostend, a flourishing coastal town in 1926. Credit: Belga / Wikimedia Commons
In October 1904, just a few months after their first encounter, Joyce and Nora left Ireland for good, and began their peripatetic life together on continental Europe. Joyce was self-consciously European – he studied modern languages and was inspired by writers such as the French novelist Gustave Flaubert and the Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen.
From their first move to Trieste (then the fourth-largest city in the Austro-Hungarian Empire), the Joyces often spoke in Italian at home, especially with their children Giorgio (born 1905) and Lucia (born 1907), both in Trieste. The family moved many times, frequently at short notice, migrating between Paris, Trieste, Zurich, London and Rome.
By 1926, Ulysses had been published and Joyce was famous. That summer, the family escaped the heatwave in Paris and enjoyed a long holiday in Ostend, a four-week stay which has been meticulously documented by the multidisciplinary artist Xavier Tricot in his 2018 book, James Joyce in Ostend. Ostend was in its heyday: marked by a blend of elegance, culture, and leisure and attracting royalty, aristocrats, and affluent tourists from across Europe.
"This is by far the best place we have been in for a summer holiday," wrote Joyce in his correspondence. The holiday snaps included in Tricot’s book are perhaps the most touching aspect: showing the family enjoying a relaxing and carefree time together, between the wars and before the shadows of Giorgio’s alcoholism and Lucia’s schizophrenia took hold.
Joyce lives on
Tickets are now sold out for this year’s third edition of Bloomsday in Ostend, "A unique opportunity to immerse yourself in Joycean plaisanterie," according to Helen Simpson of Portiers van de Oceaan, the local organising committee. Highlights of the Ostend Bloomsday programme include artist Philippe Tonnard’s (who lives and works in Ghent) unique homage to James Joyce in an exhibition at [bu'ro], a brand-new gallery run by Philippe Braem.
Geert Lernout, founder of the James Joyce centre at the University of Antwerp, will give a talk on ‘Joyce and the Sirens’ and media personality Kurt Van Eeghem will also give a lecture. The Joyce family snapshots will be discussed by Ostend city guide Dirk Beirens, and an open mic session offers the enticing prospect of Joycean mayhem breaking out towards the end of the day.
Those unable to attend this year's event can look forward to future editions, as Portiers van de Oceaan and the Irish Embassy now see Bloomsday as an annual celebration.
"We’ll be holding a centenary celebration in 2026, when we’ll be celebrating the 100th anniversary of James Joyce’s stay in Oostende in the summer of 1926. It will be our largest 'Bloomsday in Oostende' to date," says Simpson. The organisers promise a "homage to James Joyce and the 'Queen of Belgian Seaside’ resorts, the city of Oostende."
And whilst Ulysses is not known for being an easy read, Simpson believes it can resonate well beyond academic circles, drawing the reader into the world of the book and changing one’s perception of the contemporary everyday world.
Excellent recordings (originally broadcast in Ireland on RTÉ radio in 1982) are available on YouTube. It’s entirely feasible to just enjoy the musicality and joy in the language without understanding everything in it straight away.
More than a hundred years after its first publication, Ulysses is provocative, bawdy, beautiful and weird – just like life itself. It’s the foundational text of an indigenous wisdom tradition for modern urban Europeans, and it’s a trip, one that can give much pleasure and bring many interesting discussions, new friendships and perspectives with it. Tune in, turn on and bloom out…
Interested in reading Ulysses together in Brussels? You are not alone…get in touch via falconrypress@gmail.com
