Some do it in the living room, some in the kitchen. A few do it always in bed. But I prefer to read novels like „Finnegans Wake“ in reading-groups.
To find a reading-group (that tried to climb through the mountains of James Joyce „Finnegans Wake“) is more strange than expected. My first attempt to find one in my neighborhood (Rhein-Main, Hochtaunus) failed. The second try – I widened my search to all of Germany – failed as well: at the moment there are no publicly registered reading-groups for „Finnegans Wake“ in Germany. There are some closed groups at universities – but tend to be far away (for me). The closest possible reading-groups are in Zürich, managed by Mr. Fritz Senn, a famous James Joyce expert ( „Oh Lord, would you buy me a Mercedes Benz …“ / Janis Joplin).
How can you build a new reading-group for „Finnegans Wake“?
First I created a short video-clip and uploaded it to Youtube (please look for: „Carl Schmerz & Finnegans Wake & Lesekreis“). But I never got an answer, call or email! I sent emails to my family, relatives and a lot of friends! Finally, some days later, I got emails back with questions: what, when, where, how often etc. — This means, in the end, there is hope after all to start a very small Finnegans-Wake-Reading-Group in Rhein/Main soon.
I guess, there are more Finnegans-Wake-Fans in my neighborhood than expected (I’m talking about ‚Hessen‘); – let us hope, it’s true! – But I’m still a little skeptical! Maybe we could find some more readers of „Finnegans Wake“ in Germany that are interested to start reading-groups. My website „finnegans-web-wake.eu“ should help to connect a widespread group of readers in greater Germany.
The novel „Finnegans Wake“ is split into 4 parts (Book I to IV) with up to 8 chapters. The blog’s structure is similiar to that of the Books: each blog covers (page by page) a chapter and readers should use it for comments, critics etc..
I would like to start the reading-group at the beginning of the novel (page 003); but: at the moment nothing is set in stone …
Please contact me for details: info@carl-schmerz.eu
Reading should begin in a few days! –
Can’t wait to start!
Carl Schmerz (16th of Ju(ne)ly 2017)