Bloomsday Croatia

Did you know that James Joyce lived for a while in Croatia?

Joyce spent six months teaching English in the city of Pula in Istria over the Winter of 1904-5 and wrote much of A Portrait of An Artist in Croatia/ A commemorative plaque recalling this period of his life is placed on the building where he taught English, mainly to Austro-Hungarian officers stationed at the town's naval base.

Even though Joyce spent relatively little time in Pula he has been taken to heart by the citizens of that city. His sojourn in Pula is marked on Bloomsday (a celebration that takes place both in Dublin and around the world to mark Thursday 16 June 1904, which is the day depicted in James Joyce's novel Ulysses. The day is named after Leopold Boom, the central character in Ulysses).

The programme of events for Bloomsday Pula took place from 14-16 June and included 13 separate events. Highlights included a screening of Joseph Strick's 1967 film of Ulysses; a public reading of Ulysses including by the Ambassador; an exhibit on Joyce's time in Pula; a public lecture on Joyce; an exhibition of Irish Dancing; and a performance of Joyce's children's play "The Cat and the Devil".