In the spirit of celebrating St. Patrick’s Day, March 17, which commemorates the death of Saint Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, we highlight another Irish author: James Joyce.

James Joyce (1882-1941) was an Irish writer who, in his early twenties, left with his partner, Nora Barnacle, for self-imposed exile in Europe. They spent most of his life in Zurich, Trieste and Paris. Nevertheless, his writings were all based in Dublin. In their early years in Europe, he supported them through language teaching. As his reputation as an avant-garde writer rose, he gained financial support from wealthy patrons, which continued to the end of his days. Joyce suffered chronic eye problems and mental illness. He died following abdominal surgery. His literary legacy is celebrated each year on 16 June, now known as Bloomsday.

In Joyce’s last book, Finnegans Wake, his exploration of language and structure is taken to a new level. Thought by some to be a recreation of the dream world, it uses stream of consciousness, wide-ranging linguistic and cultural allusions, and playful language. It perhaps achieved a peak of innovative writing that few scale or appreciate.

Here at Faded Page, we also have Joyce’s Ulysses, his most famous book. To help us make available other important public-domain works like this one, please join us and proof a few pages. For more information about how to volunteer, check out our companion site, Distributed Proofreaders Canada.