Synopses & Reviews
Mythic Worlds, Modern Words provides a representation of Campbells published writing, lectures on Joyce, and exchanges with his audiences, from his obituary notice on Joyce in 1941 to lectures delivered a few years before Campbells death. Joyce scholar Edmund L. Epstein has arranged this material as running commentary on A Portrait of the Artist As a Young Man, Ulysses, and Finnegans Wake. With a new foreword by Phil Cousineau for this Collected Works edition, Mythic Worlds, Modern Words is both an introduction to the major work of Joyce and a representative portrait of Joseph Campbell as a critic of Joyce. It is also a major contribution to Joyce criticism, the fruit of a lifetimes meditation on the great Irish writers writings.
Synopsis
In 1927 Joseph Campbell was given clues to reading James Joyces labyrinthine Ulysses by its original publisher Sylvia Beach and, as he said, it changed his career. His discoveries became the foundation for his later work in comparative mythology. To analyze Ulysses and Joyces other works, he employed depth psychology, anthropology, religion, and art history as tools. A treasure for Joyce and Campbell fans alike, Mythic Worlds, Modern Words collects 60 years of Campbells writings, lectures, and other commentary on Joyce, including exchanges with his audiences and Campbell's 1941 Joyce obituary.