WAKE: Cold Reading Finnegans Wake

As we bask in the wake of completing the Wake, Toby and TJ welcome renowned author, librarian, academic, and bookfluencer George Koors to discuss how to get into the Wake, as well as what to do after it's done. We discuss the benefits and risks of BookTok, Bookstagram, and BookTube, the egalitarian nature of Joyce ensuring that through complexity all readers are rendered the same, and consider the dangers of placing beloved texts on syllabi. We discuss Taylor Swift, Ben Jonson, and Fyodor Dostoevsky, and George hits us with two monumental recommendations that will rattle your brain and strain at your wallet. To top it all, we get the world exclusive scoop on TJ's new play, learn the term "typoglycemia" and consider the weight we can place on art that survives time. We'd like to think WAKE is one of those survivors, as we enter our end-of-series hiatus... This week's chatters: George Koors, Toby Malone, TJ Young References George's website: https://www.georgekoors.com/ [https://www.georgekoors.com/] George on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gbk7288/ [https://www.instagram.com/gbk7288/]  Always the Wanderer: https://www.amazon.com/Always-Wanderer-George-Bernard-Koors/dp/1936135159 [https://www.amazon.com/Always-Wanderer-George-Bernard-Koors/dp/1936135159]  George Koors - YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/@gbk7288] Let's Talk About James Joyce's Finnegans Wake [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XskNQCnfLGk&t=81s]  James Joyce's Finnegans Wake In Less Than 2 Minutes [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rb8nQJKUrEw&t=20s]  Arno Schmidt Zettels Traum (Bottom’s Dream) https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6088384 [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6088384]  https://www.georgekoors.com/ [https://www.georgekoors.com/] George’s petition to make Zettels Traum accessible! https://www.georgekoors.com/post/help-me-fight-literary-gatekeeping-let-s-make-arno-schmidt-s-zettels-traum-more-accessible [https://www.georgekoors.com/post/help-me-fight-literary-gatekeeping-let-s-make-arno-schmidt-s-zettels-traum-more-accessible]  Carlos Fuentes Terra Nostra https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/59415.Terra_Nostra?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=cbUx0TDs2A&rank=1 [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/59415.Terra_Nostra?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=cbUx0TDs2A&rank=1] For early drops, community and show notes, join us at our free Patreon, at⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/wakepod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [http://patreon.com/wakepod], or check out our Linktree, at⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://linktr.ee/wake.pod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://linktr.ee/wake.pod]. We welcome comments from everyone: even, nay, especially, the dreaded purists. Come and "um actually" us!

We can't believe it. Can you believe it? We actually finished reading Finnegans Wake. What started out as a podcast to read an "unreadable book" has turned into a journey that has endeared us to a magical community, connected with our family and friends, and reawakened our sense of what art can be. While sometimes it felt like climbing a sheer cliff-face, the toeholds we gained along the way made this a delightfully fulfilling project. For this final episode, Toby and TJ look back on WAKE and consider how you know when a project is over, embracing confusion, and how much we appreciate the spectators at the end of a marathon. We talk Joyce on film, Pinter, the Beatles, Lord of the Rings, and hypertexts, and pinpoint the exact moment the Harry Potter franchise lost TJ. We take on translation, and gimmicks, and mountaineering, and the question of how-fast-is-too-fast-to-read-the-Wake. Then, as we consider the stadium-sized Rubik's Cube that is the Wake, we are visited by the Patron Saint of WAKE for words of congratulations. It's an unmissable end to what has indeed proven to be a surprisingly listenable podcast. This week's chatters: Toby Malone, TJ Young Progress: 628 pages complete, 0 pages to go; 100% read. Contextual Notes The Patron Saint of WAKE Michael Ian Black congratulates WAKE! [https://www.cameo.com/recipient/67d5bcfb03f6a68b9ff0792a⁠ ] Michael Ian Black Substack [https://michaelianblack.substack.com/⁠ ] Referenced Texts Fadiman, Clifton. “Don’t Shoot the Book-Reviewer; He’s Doing the Best He Can [https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1939/05/06/dont-shoot-the-book-reviewer-hes-doing-the-best-he-can⁠ ].” The New Yorker. April 28, 1939. Norris, David, and Carl Flint.  Introducing Joyce: A Graphic Guide. London: Icon Books, 2013. McCreedy, Jonathan. (2022). Joyceradamus: Foretelling the Age of Trump in Finnegans Wake. [https://www.researchgate.net/publication/357912524_Joyceradamus_Foretelling_the_Age_of_Trump_in_Finnegans_Wake⁠  ] Joyce Studies in Italy: Joyspace: James Joyce and Space, 23 (2021): 159-74. Rose, David. Cryptogrammic Cryptograms: Fungi in Finnegans Wake. Collard, David. Multiple Joyce. London: Sagging Meniscus P, 2022. Glasheen, Adaline. Third census of Finnegans wake : an index of the characters and their roles. Berkeley, California: University of California Press, 1977. Benstock, Bernard. Joyce-Again’s Wake [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/331509.Joyce_again_s_wake⁠]. Turnbull, Caldwell. No Gods, No Monsters [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/55748103-no-gods-no-monsters⁠ ]. Wake in the World Finnegan Wake! [https://monsterhigh.fandom.com/wiki/Finnegan_Wake_(G1)⁠] Mirko Buffini’s HCE Collection [https://mirkobuffinifirenze.com/en/negozio/hce-collection-en/finnegan/⁠ ] Hoyne Brewing: Finnegans Irish Stout [https://www.hoynebrewing.ca/beer/finnegans-irish-stout/⁠ ] Translating the Wake Reading James Joyce's Finnegans Wake in Korean by Sang Hyun Lee 187 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h81_kDP06gQ&t=177s⁠ ] Dai, Congrong. "A Chinese Translation of Finnegans Wake: The Work in Progress [https://dx.doi.org/10.1353/jjq.2010.0006⁠]." James Joyce Quarterly, vol. 47 no. 4, 2010, p. 579-588. Project MUSE Nothing’s Impossible: Finnegans Wake Translated into Chinese [https://publishingperspectives.com/2012/09/impossible-no-finnegans-wake-translated-into-chinese/⁠ ]. Eishiro, Ito. Two Japanese Translations of Finnegans Wake Compared [http://p-www.iwate-pu.ac.jp/~acro-ito/Joycean_Essays/FW_2JapTranslations.html⁠ ]: Yanase (1991-1993) and Miyata (2004) Kenji Hayakawa [https://bsky.app/profile/kenjihayakawa.com⁠ ]. Francois-Victor Hugo’s Shakespeare [https://books.google.ca/books?id=72FMAAAAcAAJ&printsec=frontcover&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false⁠ ]: Joyce on Film Roger Ebert on Bute’s Wake film [https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/finnegans-wake-1968⁠ ] Bute’s Film [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8V9USPiXXK8⁠ ] Strick’s Ulysses [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulysses_(1967_film)⁠ ] The Film [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h7xAM_eXuuk⁠ ] Resources FinWake.com [https://finwake.com/⁠ ] FWEET [http://www.fweet.org/⁠ ] Peter Quadrino’s Blog [https://finwakeatx.blogspot.com/⁠] Chicken’s Guide [https://jjda.ie/f/fwhome.htm⁠] Buffalo James Joyce Collection [https://library.buffalo.edu/jamesjoyce/⁠ ] Richard Harte [https://www.onelittlegoat.org/finneganswake⁠ ] Peter O’Brien [https://www.peterobrienart.com/⁠ ] Reading Groups: https://finneganswake.org/ReadingGroups.shtml [https://finneganswake.org/ReadingGroups.shtml]  Podcasts Frank Delaney’s Re-Joyce: [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/frank-delaneys-re-joyce/id377763645⁠ ] Joseph Strick’s Ulysses on Three Castles Burning [https://threecastlesburning.libsyn.com/joseph-stricks-ulysses-1967⁠ ] 1954: The Birth of Bloomsday on Three Castles Burning: https://threecastlesburning.libsyn.com/1954-the-birth-of-bloomsday [https://threecastlesburning.libsyn.com/1954-the-birth-of-bloomsday] Exploring Lucia Joyce (with Joe Chester) on Three Castles Burning: https://threecastlesburning.libsyn.com/exploring-lucia-joyce-with-joe-chester [https://threecastlesburning.libsyn.com/exploring-lucia-joyce-with-joe-chester] WAKE To find TJ: https://www.tj-young.com/ [https://www.tj-young.com/]  To find Toby: https://linktr.ee/turglife [https://linktr.ee/turglife]  WAKE on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wake.pod/ [https://www.instagram.com/wake.pod/]  WAKE on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/WAKEPOD [https://www.patreon.com/c/WAKEPOD]  WAKE on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@WAKEpod [https://www.youtube.com/@WAKEpod]  WAKE on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/wakepod.bsky.social [https://bsky.app/profile/wakepod.bsky.social]  WAKE on X: lol, fuck you Elon For early drops, community and show notes, join us at our free Patreon, at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/wakepod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [http://patreon.com/wakepod], or check out our Linktree, at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://linktr.ee/wake.pod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://linktr.ee/wake.pod]. We welcome comments from everyone: even, nay, especially, the dreaded purists. Come and "um actually" us!

There's nothing quite like ticking off a bucket list item, and today is the day, where Toby and TJ come to the end of the long reading road to finally finish Finnegans Wake. Before we get there, though, we have superstar guest Neil Wechsler to guide us through his favourite section of the book, along with passionate opinions on Hollywood hypocrisy, problematic shortcuts, and how the unique structure of the Wake is not a joke, nor a gimmick, but in fact proof that the human race is not entirely doomed. Joyce gives us an ending that's worth the wait, and feels well earned, as the pain of the cycle ends in a note of hope. We may have finished with the Wake, but we have a feeling it's not quite finished with us yet. This week's readers: Neil Wechsler, Toby Malone, TJ Young Progress: 628 pages complete, 0 pages to go; 100% read. Contextual Notes James Joyce Collection at the University at Buffalo: https://library.buffalo.edu/jamesjoyce/ [https://library.buffalo.edu/jamesjoyce/] The Wake at the UB collection: https://library.buffalo.edu/jamesjoyce/catalog/vi-finnegans-wake/ [https://library.buffalo.edu/jamesjoyce/catalog/vi-finnegans-wake/] A proposed JJ museum through the Buffalo collection: https://library.buffalo.edu/jamesjoyce/pdf/james-joyce-museum.pdf [https://library.buffalo.edu/jamesjoyce/pdf/james-joyce-museum.pdf]  Joyce-again's wake: An analysis of Finnegans wake, Bernard Benstock: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/331509.Joyce_again_s_wake [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/331509.Joyce_again_s_wake]  A Reader's Guide to Finnegans Wake, William York Tindall: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/59480.A_Reader_s_Guide_to_Finnegans_Wake [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/59480.A_Reader_s_Guide_to_Finnegans_Wake]  Jeffrey Jarome Cohen: Monster Culture: Seven Theses: https://ptfaculty.gordonstate.edu/rscoggins/Cohen,%20Monster%20Culture%20(Seven%20Theses),%203-20.pdf [https://ptfaculty.gordonstate.edu/rscoggins/Cohen,%20Monster%20Culture%20(Seven%20Theses),%203-20.pdf]  Sorry Finn https://pure.royalholloway.ac.uk/en/persons/finn-fordham [https://pure.royalholloway.ac.uk/en/persons/finn-fordham]  Benstock, Bernard. Joyce Again’s Wake. https://www.loc.gov/item/65023908/ [https://www.loc.gov/item/65023908/] Neil Wechsler’s website: https://wechslerprojects.com/ [https://wechslerprojects.com/] Neil on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wechslerprojects/ [https://www.instagram.com/wechslerprojects/] Our favourite play, Grenadine: https://www.amazon.ca/Grenadine-Neil-Wechsler/dp/0300149921 [https://www.amazon.ca/Grenadine-Neil-Wechsler/dp/0300149921] Neil on New Play Exchange: https://newplayexchange.org/users/37010/neil-wechsler [https://newplayexchange.org/users/37010/neil-wechsler] For early drops, community and show notes, join us at our free Patreon, at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/wakepod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [http://patreon.com/wakepod], or check out our Linktree, at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://linktr.ee/wake.pod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://linktr.ee/wake.pod]. We welcome comments from everyone: even, nay, especially, the dreaded purists. Come and "um actually" us!

In the grand tradition of Finnegans Wake, WAKE has looped back around on itself to become a self-generating machine, as we welcome back musical innovator and the most reckless of stramashers, Tommy Mackay, to talk about WAKE: the Album! Yes, this very podcast is honoured to be the inspiration for at least half the tracks on Tommy's new (stra)mash-up album of music, smashing WAKE readings into the music of Taylor Swift, Wham!, Devo, and more, with more groan-worthy dad-joke pun titles than you could possibly handle. There's a sailor on a horse! There's an invitation to suck a sugarstick! There's Gráinne O'Malley's girl power! Join us for a track-by-track odyssey through WAKE: the Album, in the hope that no takedown notices emerge to ruin anyone's fun. This week's chatters: Tommy Mackay, Toby Malone, TJ Young References WAKE: the Album on Bandcamp [https://tommymackay.bandcamp.com/album/wake⁠ ] WAKE: the Album on the Daily Reckless [https://www.dailyreckless.com/2025/04/04/wake/ ] Album details: A collection of stramash-ups by Tommy Mackay drawn from readings of James Joyce's 'Finnegans Wake' Main sources: * WAKE podcast - www.youtube.com/@WAKEpod [http://www.youtube.com/@WAKEpod]  * One Little Goat Theatre Company - www.onelittlegoat.org/finneganswake [http://www.onelittlegoat.org/finneganswake]  Released April 4, 2025 Clips used by permission from the WAKE podcast by Toby Malone and TJ Young and also the audio-visual book by One Little Goat Theatre Company read by Richard Harte, directed by Adam Seelig. Individual credits in song info. all rights reserved 1. Finnegan's Wake 03:38. trad. Played and sung by Kevin Kennedy from the One Little Goat theatre company production, directed by Adam Seelig. www.onelittlegoat.org/finneganswake [http://www.onelittlegoat.org/finneganswake] 2. Wake Me Up Before You Goan 03:13. performed by Richard Harte from the One Little Goat theatre company production. Music - Maucoli the pianoman's version of Wham's 'Wake Me Up Before You Go Go.'' 3. The Ballad Of Persse O'Reilly 06:31. performed by Meg Logue from the Wake podcast. 4. Thunderwords 01:58. read by Adam Harvey, Joyce Geek - joycegeek.com/thundervideos/ [http://joycegeek.com/thundervideos/] Music - Thunderbirds theme tune 5. Tip It! 04:37. performed by Richard Harte from the One Little Goat theatre company production. Backing track - 'Whip It!' by Devo. 6. Denti Alligator 02:43. From the Wake podcast, read by Toby Malone, TJ Young, Tommy Mackay.  Music - 'See You Later Alligator' Bill Haley and The Comets 7. Thunderslog 04:06. from the Wake podcast -Toby Malone, TJ Young. Music Steve 'n' Seagulls live cover of AC/DC's 'Thunderstruck.' Lady Macbeth - Kate Fleetwood from the 2010 Rupert Goold production. 8. Cunstuntonoplies 02:48. read by Patrick Horgan, 1985.  Music - 'Istanbul Not Constantinople' by They Might Be Giants. 9. Wake It Off 03:45. performed by Richard Harte from the One Little Goat theatre company production.  Backing track 'Shake It Off ' by Taylor Swift. 10. Respectable 03:20. Seth Austin from the Wake podcast.  Music - 'Respectable' by Mel and Kim. 11. Suck It Yourself, Sugarstick! 03:48. Toby Malone, Sarah Kane from the Wake podcast. Music - 'Suck It And See' by Arctic Monkeys. 12. Wake That 06:20. performed by Richard Harte from the One Little Goat theatre company production. Music - 'Never Forget instrumental' by Take That. Bonus Tracks: * Hi Ho Silver Sailor https://www.dailyreckless.com/2025/04/06/hi-ho-silver-sailor/ * Fanfare for ALP * Olwen Fouéré’s riverrun: ⁠https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2014/feb/14/riverrun-joyce-finnegans-wake-olwen-fouere-national-theatre⁠ [https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2014/feb/14/riverrun-joyce-finnegans-wake-olwen-fouere-national-theatre] Other references: Allaster Mckallester: https://www.instagram.com/mckallaster/ [https://www.instagram.com/mckallaster/]  ReWiggled: https://open.spotify.com/album/7pMmcRjBt41hvqnFQHqYb2 [https://open.spotify.com/album/7pMmcRjBt41hvqnFQHqYb2]  Finnegans Dreams: https://www.dailyreckless.com/2024/08/15/finnegans-dreams/ [https://www.dailyreckless.com/2024/08/15/finnegans-dreams/]  McCourt, John. ‘Denti Alligator' or ‘Airtight Alligator': Reading Dante with Joyce and Beckett. [https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781003335870-8/denti-alligator-airtight-alligator-john-mccourt⁠ ] For early drops, community and show notes, join us at our free Patreon, at⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/wakepod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [http://patreon.com/wakepod], or check out our Linktree, at⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://linktr.ee/wake.pod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://linktr.ee/wake.pod]. We welcome comments from everyone: even, nay, especially, the dreaded purists. Come and "um actually" us!

Book Four is upon us, and it is with mixed feelings, both excited and sad, that we launch into the final segments of Finnegans Wake. Helping us along the way is fan-favourite WAKE veteran, internationally-acclaimed author, Lucy "old rubberskin" Brazier, who helps us get into a typically ribald discussion of Simlish, Instagram thots, tortoise dreams, terrible superhero names, fan fiction, and a plan for a Biddy the Hen statue in Phoenix Park. Come for the reading, stay for our brutal takedown of the Oxford World's Classic: it's more fun than a sailor on a horse! This week's readers: Lucy Brazier, Toby Malone, TJ Young Progress: 613 pages complete, 15 pages to go; 97.61% read. Contextual Notes Brancusi’s Whirligig https://www.themorgan.org/exhibitions/online/ulysses/brancusis-symbol-joyce [https://www.themorgan.org/exhibitions/online/ulysses/brancusis-symbol-joyce]  AO3 James Joyce Fanfic: https://archiveofourown.org/tags/Finnegans%20Wake%20-%20James%20Joyce/works [https://archiveofourown.org/tags/Finnegans%20Wake%20-%20James%20Joyce/works]  Finnegans Wake and Spongebob Fanfic: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9436142 [https://archiveofourown.org/works/9436142]  Mutt and Jeff https://www.loc.gov/exhibitions/comic-art/about-this-exhibition/early-years-1890s-to-1920s/mutt-and-jeff-an-unlikely-pair/ [https://www.loc.gov/exhibitions/comic-art/about-this-exhibition/early-years-1890s-to-1920s/mutt-and-jeff-an-unlikely-pair/] Three Castles Burning on early houses: https://threecastlesburning.libsyn.com/the-dawning-of-the-day-last-orders-at-the-early-house [https://threecastlesburning.libsyn.com/the-dawning-of-the-day-last-orders-at-the-early-house]  Lucy Brazier’s website https://portergirl.com/ [https://portergirl.com/] Finnegans What?: Finnegans Wake - A guide by an idiot https://www.amazon.ca/Finnegans-What-Wake-guide-idiot/dp/1092156100/ [https://www.amazon.ca/Finnegans-What-Wake-guide-idiot/dp/1092156100/] Lucy on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/brazierlucy/ [https://www.instagram.com/brazierlucy/] Lucy on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/@lucybrazierauthor/ [https://www.facebook.com/@lucybrazierauthor/] Lucy on Twitter https://twitter.com/@portergirl100/ [https://twitter.com/@portergirl100/] If Movies Ended When Someone Said the Title: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5DMndH8QiI4 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5DMndH8QiI4] If Movies Ended When Someone Said the Title Part 2 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzMsbdAQRg4&t=0s [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzMsbdAQRg4&t=0s]  If Movies Ended When Someone Said the Title 3 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yT41rqh-Udk [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yT41rqh-Udk]  For early drops, community and show notes, join us at our free Patreon, at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/wakepod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [http://patreon.com/wakepod], or check out our Linktree, at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://linktr.ee/wake.pod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://linktr.ee/wake.pod]. We welcome comments from everyone: even, nay, especially, the dreaded purists. Come and "um actually" us!