June 16, the day that the legendary James Joyce chronicled in Ulysses (June 16, 1904, to be exact), has been officially dubbed Bloomsday. It’s celebrated every year in Dublin and elsewhere as well.
In 1954, it seems, a band of Irish authors celebrated Bloomsday by dressing up in costumes, traveling from one end of Dublin to the other in a horse-drawn carriage, and (probably) stopping off at a pub or two
I love the idea of people celebrating a red-letter day in an author’s life — especially by reading, carousing, and singing!
This raises a wealth of possibilities. If James Joyce can have his day, why not Willa Cather, Charles Dickens, or Emily Dickinson? Now, since none of them immortalized a particular day in their work as our boy James did, for simplicity’s sake, we can pick their birthdays as times of celebration. Charles was born on February 7, 1812 (a Pisces, like me!), Willa on December 7, 1873, and Emily on December 10, 1830.
Now I’m sure you have your very own merry little band of beloved authors. Why not check out their birthdays and plan a little fun with friends to celebrate the joy they’ve brought you over the years. A cozy dinner, a glass or two hoisted in memory of your special scribe, a snazzy new journal purchased in their honor — what could be more fitting?
We burn lots of little gray cells plying our trade, so let’s enjoy ourselves as we write on!