Sunday, September 21, 2014

The world of academia in Literature

"Daaaang" was the first thing out of my mouth after I read two articles about the most recent (I think?) edition of Ulysses by James Joyce. There are so many editions, so many different versions, with seemingly minor changes (that really change the way it's read), that it seems that one could argue for and against any of the editions.

However, in this case, the condemner has a pretty solid argument and rips the 19841986 edition apart. There are references to shoddy work, sloppiness, lack of scholarship, improper research, and all sorts of general and specific insults that point to the lack of quality and thus, the lack of intelligence in the people who undertook this project. And he's horrifically mean about it.

The people try at some kind of retort, but he responds with a story that's worse because there's wordplay that spits on how badly they bungled Ulysses. I can't say it's petty though I can see it going down that road, but geesh, no punches were pulled!

The world of literature academics is kind of scary! Oh, we'll see where this all goes...

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