Bloomsday

Some of us celebrate William Shakespeare's birthday, which also happens to be the day he died. But Bloomsday celebrates a fictional event. June 16, 1904. That's the setting of James Joyce's Ulysses. It's the day his protagonist, Leopold Bloom, set out on a series of adventures in Dublin. Join NPR's Neal Conan and his guests to celebrate the centennial Bloomsday.

Guests:

Nola Tully
*Editor of the book Yes I Said Yes I Will Yes: A Celebration of James Joyce, Ulysses and 100 Years of Bloomsday

Christopher Hitchens
*Columnist for The Nation and Vanity Fair
*His essay on Ulyssestitled "Joyce in Bloom" appears in the June issue of Vanity Fair

Dale Peck
*Novelist and literary critic
*His latest book is called Hatchet Jobs: Writings on Contemporary Fiction

Isaiah Sheffer
*Artistic Director of Symphony Space in New York
*Host of NPR's Selected Shorts
*Host of annual Bloomsday on Broadway celebration

Francine Prose
*Novelist whose works include Blue Angel and Guided Tours of Hell
*She's finishing a new novel called A Changed Man due out next spring
*She was one of four writers asked to write a day in the life of a New Yorker as a tribute to Joyce in the June 21st issue of New York Magazine