WHEN: Wednesday, June 16th from Noon – 7 p.m.
WHERE: Trinity Center for Urban Life, 22nd & Spruce Streets, Philadelphia
Bloomsday is a free and open to the public.Due to possible rain in the forecast, Bloomsday will take place in its new rain location instead of the Rosenbach Museum & Library. For more information, call (215) 732-1600 or visit www.rosenbach.org.
WHAT: The Rosenbach Museum & Librarywill celebrate its 18th Annual Bloomsday on Wednesday, June 16th from Noon – 7 p.m. The Rosenbach, home of James Joyce’s original manuscript for Ulysses, holds this Philadelphia tradition every year on June 16th—the day on which protagonist Leopold Bloom made his fictional odyssey through Dublin—drawing hundreds of friends, neighbors, Joyce enthusiasts, book-lovers, and curious passersby to hear dozens of notable Philadelphians read from and bring the novel to life.
This year, the Rosenbach will explore Ulysses as a Feast of Wordsas the museum looks at the importance of food and dining in the novel. The special Bloomsday exhibition A Taste for Ulysses(June 2 – 22) reveals the centrality of food, feasting, and fine (and unfine) dining in the novel, while this year’s Bloomsday readers will include Founder, Chef Ambassador and former Executive Chef of Lacroix at the Rittenhouse, revered Chef Jean-Marie Lacroix, Philadelphia Inquirer food writer Rick Nichols, publicans Fergus Carey (Fergie’s Pub, Monk’s Café) and Paddy Whelan (The Bards at 20th and Walnut), and author and Philadelphia caterer Steve Poses, among others.
WHO: Bloomsday features public readings from some of the city’s most interesting business, creative, and media personalities, along witha special exhibition of Joyce materials. Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter, who will read at 3:15 p.m., is among the list of nearly 75 local notables reading this epic work of fiction. A partial schedule of notable readers follows below:
12:00 p.m.Judith Guston (Curator and Director of Collections, Rosenbach Museum & Library)
12:10 p.m.Fergus Carey (Publican, Fergie’s Pub, Monk’s Café)
12:25 p.m. Emilie Parker (Hirsig Family Director of Education, Rosenbach Museum & Library)
12:30 p.m.Lauren Grodstein (Author, A Friend of the Family and other novels)
12:40 p.m. Keith Ragone (Graphic Designer; Painter)
12:50 p.m. Declan Kiberd (Professor of Anglo-Irish Literature, University College, Dublin)
1:00 p.m. Allen Crawford (Desinger, Plankton Art; Author, The Affected Provincial’s Companion)
1:20 p.m. Baruch Blumberg (Distinguished Scientist; 1979 Nobel Prize laureate)
1:25 p.m. Bill Adair (Director, Heritage Philadelphia Program, Pew Center for Arts & Heritage)
1:35 p.m. Linda E. Johnson (Trustee, Free Library of Philadelphia and National Constitution Center)
1:45 p.m. Carol Saline (Senior Writer, Philadelphia Magazine)
1:50 p.m. Rick Nichols (Food Critic, Philadelphia Inquirer)
1:55 p.m. Jean-Marie Lacroix (Chef Ambassador & Founder of Lacroix at the Rittenhouse)
2:10 p.m. Siobhan Reardon (President, Free Library of Philadelphia)
2:15 p.m. Romy Diaz (Associate General Counsel, Exelon Corp)
2:20 p.m. Paddy Whelan (Publican, The Bards at 20th and Walnut)
2:30 p.m. Sean Buffington (President, University of the Arts)
2:40 p.m. Sharon Pinkenson (Director, Greater Philadelphia Film Office)
2:55 p.m. Happy Fernandez (President, Moore College of Art & Design)
3:10 p.m. Carolyn Langfitt (Co-Founder of Bloomsday at the Rosenbach)
3:15 p.m. Mayor Michael Nutter (Mayor of Philadelphia)
3:20 p.m. Mike Barsanti (Joyce expert & Editor of Ulysses Seen)
3:35 p.m. George Wohlreich (Director & CEO, College of Physicians of Philadelphia)
3:40 p.m. Juliet Goodfriend (Founding President, Bryn Mawr Film Institute)
3:45 p.m. Jim Cotter (Journalist, “Creatively Speaking” on WRTI-FM)
4:00 p.m. Steve Poses (Author & Restaurateur)
5:15 p.m. Wendy Warren (Editor, Philly.com)
5:30 p.m. Timothy Rub (Director and CEO, Philadelphia Museum of Art)
5:35 p.m. Ann Ewers(President, Kimmel Center, Inc.)
5:50 p.m. The Honorable Michael Baylson (Judge, US District Court, Eastern Pennsylvania)
6:15 p.m. Joey Sweeney (Editor, Philebrity.com)
A complete list of 2010 Bloomsday readers is available online at www.rosenbach.org.
The museum will live-tweet Bloomsday via the online micro-blogging service Twitter again this year. Rosenbach fans are invited to read about the museum and its collections, and on Bloomsday, experience Ulysses in 140 characters at www.twitter.com/rosenbachmuseum. The museum’s Twitter account will provide bite-sized observations about the event and readers and will correspond with select Ulysses passages.