WAKE: Cold Reading Finnegans Wake
A cold reading of James Joyce's "Finnegans Wake" just to hear it out loud.
Episodes
Episode 41: Pluribus and Finnegans Wake
Vince Gilligan called, and WAKE answered! Toby and TJ are back for this special episode of WAKE, in response to the casual name-dropping of Finnegans Wake in the new Apple+ series, Pluribus. We spend some spoiler-filled time (spoiling the ending of both Pluribus AND Finnegans Wake) discussing this definitely-too-deliberate-to-be-accidental reference to Joyce’s final masterpiece, and what it might
Bonus: George Koors in the wake of the Wake
As we bask in the wake of completing the Wake, Toby and TJ welcome renowned author, librarian, academic, and bookfluencer George Koors to discuss how to get into the Wake, as well as what to do after it's done. We discuss the benefits and risks of BookTok, Bookstagram, and BookTube, the egalitarian nature of Joyce ensuring that through complexity all readers are rendered the same, and consider
Episode 40: Finishing WAKE
We can't believe it. Can you believe it? We actually finished reading Finnegans Wake. What started out as a podcast to read an "unreadable book" has turned into a journey that has endeared us to a magical community, connected with our family and friends, and reawakened our sense of what art can be. While sometimes it felt like climbing a sheer cliff-face, the toeholds we gained along the way made
Episode 39: 4.1 (Part 2), p613-628
There's nothing quite like ticking off a bucket list item, and today is the day, where Toby and TJ come to the end of the long reading road to finally finish Finnegans Wake. Before we get there, though, we have superstar guest Neil Wechsler to guide us through his favourite section of the book, along with passionate opinions on Hollywood hypocrisy, problematic shortcuts, and how the unique structu
Bonus: WAKE: The Album with Tommy Mackay
In the grand tradition of Finnegans Wake, WAKE has looped back around on itself to become a self-generating machine, as we welcome back musical innovator and the most reckless of stramashers, Tommy Mackay, to talk about WAKE: the Album! Yes, this very podcast is honoured to be the inspiration for at least half the tracks on Tommy's new (stra)mash-up album of music, smashing WAKE readings into the
Episode 38: 4.1 (Part 1), p593-613
Book Four is upon us, and it is with mixed feelings, both excited and sad, that we launch into the final segments of Finnegans Wake. Helping us along the way is fan-favourite WAKE veteran, internationally-acclaimed author, Lucy "old rubberskin" Brazier, who helps us get into a typically ribald discussion of Simlish, Instagram thots, tortoise dreams, terrible superhero names, fan fiction, and a pla
Bonus: Professors Adrien Peyrache and Arjun Krishnaswamy on Wake and the Sleeping Brain
If sleep is the panacea of all ills, WAKE has found the very experts who can tell you exactly why that’s the case! On this week’s special bonus episode, Toby and TJ welcome internationally renowned neuroscientists, Professors Adrian Peyrache and Arjun Krishnaswamy, to talk about what’s going on inside our brains while we sleep. In an episode that’s part TED Talk and part HCE Talk, we break down in
Bonus: Fionnán O’Connor on Whiskey and the Wake (or, Jamessan’s Slake)
Flushed with their firestuffostered friendship, WAKE celebrates St. Patrick’s Day by exploring all of the many ways that Finnegans Wake refers to whiskey: Ireland’s beloved, potent créatúr. Joined by world whiskey historian and former Sweny’s volunteer Fionnán O’Connor, we explode some myths regarding monks, St Patrick, and potatoes, brush off our pub stool wisdom, prepare the worm on our darling
Bonus: Igor Belokrinitsky and the Ukrainian Wake in Progress Reading Group
With stubbornness and defiance, WAKE welcomes the wonderful Igor Belokrinitsky, representative of the Ukrainian Wake in Progress Finnegans Wake reading group! Igor joins Toby and TJ for a wide-ranging conversation about the true meaning of indomitability, where Joyce stands in to tell prescient lessons about colonialism, independence, identity, language and exile, which speak directly to the pligh
Bonus: Neal Kosaly-Meyer and Memorising the Wake
Ever have trouble remembering things? Phone numbers? Grocery lists? Names of casual acquaintances? If so, get ready to feel very self-conscious, because on this week's WAKE, we meet the indomitable Neal Kosaly-Meyer, a musician who decided, entirely of his own volition, to spend seventeen years memorising and performing the entirety of Finnegans Wake. Seriously. Toby and TJ caught Neal as he p
Bonus: Peter O'Brien and Wake-inspired Art
Peter O’Brien is an artist, a visionary, and a life-long Joycean, with the energy to not only dream up one major Finnegans Wake-centric artistic offshoot, but is busy scheming about how to top it. We first became aware of Peter as a brilliant artist, using “letterism” to artistically annotate the pages of Finnegans Wake. Exhibited around the world and widely published, most would be satisfied with
Episode 37: Book Three Recap
It's an episode to savour, as Toby and TJ look back on the always entertaining Book 3 of the Wake, and all the fun we had along the way. With great guests, amazing community, purist support, and laughs aplenty, Book 3 has been all the fun you'd expect from the segment of the Wake set just before the dawn. With discussions that include global simulacra, along with legendary Wakeists like Bernard Be
Episode 36: 3.4 (Part 2), p572-590
It's an episode of WAKE to make Grim Grandma Grunt, as Toby and TJ return from a long reading break to finish up Book 3! With three special readers providing their dulcet tones, we discuss whether there is any actual use to academic summaries of the text, see Joyce's perspective on parenting, puzzle over more cricket innuendo than you could ever possibly need, and agree that without the Wake, ther
Bonus: Bobby Campbell and Maybe Night
Often, when you show the Wake to an uninitiated reader, the first reaction will be “that’s weird.” Today we embrace the weird and lean into the unconventional, with a delightful, insightful chat with the overseer of the Weirdoverse, Bobby Campbell. For this bonus non-reading episode, we discuss the major role of Robert Anton Wilson in Joyce culture, psychedelics, language creation as class warfare
Episode 35: 3.4 (Part 1), p555-572
I hope you have your alarm set, because the dreamer is stirring! Toby and TJ welcome old friend Jason Rothery--acclaimed playwright, novelist, and fellow theatre survivor--to to help us read 3.4: 'Dawn.' In typical incisive form, Jason unleashes insight and enthusiasm as James Joyce acquires himself a brand new fan. From considerations of Finnegans Wake comprehension akin to the Suzuki met
Episode 34: 3.3 (Part 4), p532-554
What happens when you put an erudite Canadian-Australian in a room with a verbose Australian-Canadian? This week, as TJ suffers through a department meeting at work, Seth Austin of the "hold my beer" W.A.S.T.E Mailing List joins Toby to take on the maelstrom that is HCE's defensiveness masking desperation. With perspectives on Giambattista Vico, father-son power struggles, and Oedipus Rex, we allo
Bonus: Zoe Patterson and Joyce Reading Groups
After months of pondering the motivations of those who choose to take up the mantle of the Wake, and particularly those who get together with like-minded individuals to drink and read and discuss, we finally decided to get to the bottom of the phenomenon. Zoe Patterson is a PhD Candidate at Trinity College Dublin, whose doctoral studies centre on James Joyce reading groups. We talk about the varyi
Episode 33: 3.3 (Part 3), pp516-532
Numerologists rejoice: WAKE has hit the master number, and to celebrate, our old pal JJ has chosen to drop the subtlety and let his freak flag fly! Leonard Cohen may have said there was a crack in everything, but we don't want to know what people would accuse HCE of doing with it. Join us to discuss the Smashing Pumpkins, one man shows, adaptation theory, Yinzers and their Jawns, hundred year old
Bonus: Guinness and Finnegans Wake (or, Guinnessan’s Slake)
There are few things more synonymous with Ireland as a creamy, rich pint of Guinness. Plenty of time has been spent on James Joyce’s relationship with the black stuff, yet few have really considered just how much of a role Guinness plays in Finnegans Wake. Through dozens of allusions, references, and cunning puns, the pride of St. James’s Gate bears out an outsized presence through the dream-life
Bonus: A Very Joycean Christmas
Break out Mr. Tunney the grocer’s Christmas almanac, clear your schedule for Edwin Hamilton's Christmas pantaloonade and the Christmas pantomime Sinbad the Sailor, it’s time for a twelfth night feast dance with the Morkan Sisters, with the chrism for the christmass: in other words, it’s the WAKE Christmas episode! As we take a break on the reading for the holiday period, Toby spends a little bit o
Episode 32: 3.3 (Part 2), pp496-516
It’s always a treat when your smartest friend can join you for a chat: especially when it's the kind of smartest friend who makes you feel smarter yourself. Yes, award-winning visionary Neil Wechsler is back with us again to read a part of 3.3, roll past the 500 page mark, and to get deep into the weeds on meaning, immersion, expectation, and whether or not it’s actually a bad thing to be pretenti
Episode 31: 3.3 (Part 1), pp474-496
Under a full moon and with a pint of Guinness in hand, WAKE welcomes our very first Dublin-based reader, as correctly-accented Sarah Kane joins Toby and TJ to kick off Chapter 3.3. Sarah tells us all about participating in Bloomsday as a neophyte Joycean (“a lifeguard that can’t swim”), slips into a Joyce fugue state regardless of best laid plans, and reminds us that a cold read is really just wha
Bonus Episode: Ana Dahlberg
Grab your torches and buffs, it's time for another episode of Survivor: Finnegans Wake edition... Experts say that the best way to manage unprocessed trauma is to talk it through, to normalise what you've experienced. Here at WAKE we are all about offering all angles and perspectives on Finnegans Wake: and it was only a matter of time until we interviewed someone who did not enjoy the experience!
Episode 30: 3.2 (Part 2), pp448-473
No one ever likes to WAKE alone, but sometimes the occasion calls for it. On a dark day in WAKE-world, Toby takes the reins solo to deal with the apuckalips, or at least what feels like it. Along the way, Jaun's entirely inappropriate conversation with Issy provides a distraction, tempered by side discussions of chaos theory, John Cage, Idiocracy, and hope for the future.
This week's readers: Toby
Episode 29: 3.2 (Part 1), pp429-448
Before today's episode, Toby and TJ had never heard the word "stramash", but now we can't stop saying it! Scottish musician, editor, author, and all-rounder Tommy MacKay joins the WAKE fold, not only to teach us this ever-so useful Scottish term for chaos, but also to discuss his amazing Joyce-music 'stramashups', the pitfalls of adaptation, pioneering punk music, creepy death masks, and the thing
Bonus Episode: Every Thunderword
The hundred-letter 'thunderwords' are arguably the most enduring, well-known, and mystifying feature of Finnegans Wake, jumbles of letters cobbling together words from far-flung languages to create a word salad of difficulty that seems to stand as emblematic of the overall challenges of the Wake. In this bonus episode, we spend a few minutes considering all ten thunderwords, their 1001 letters, an
Episode 28: 3.1, pp402-428
Hooraymost! It’s the dirtiest chapter featuring insect erotica in all of literature, so grab your doodlers and bungholes, we’re going spizzing! Best of all, beloved Wakexpert Lucy Brazier finds room on her fagroaster to get down to some Clowntalkin about the savage rivalry between Shaun and his brother as we cover chapter 3.1! We wonder about narrative-minded donkeys, ponder what it would take to
Episode 27: Book Two Recap
We find ourselves at the end of Book Two, and you know what that means: another ever-popular recap episode! Using the mind-bending brilliance of the László Moholy-Nagy Finnegans Wake Diagram as a jumping-off point, Toby and TJ try to rank the chapters of Book 2, nostalgically reconsider Night Lessons, and compare the text to a disparate collection of cultural touchstones. Topics may include, to va
Episode 26: 2.4, pp383-399
This week we break things down to the quark level to bring you mythical love stories (featuring a king named Mark), ghost-written historical romances, interminable sentences, and Joycean numerology. Jackie Mahoney joins the team and expertly weaves their way through questions of whether chapter 2.4 is about Tristan and Isolde, or if it's more about about the four perverts leering at them from the
Episode 25: 2.3 (Part 4), pp370-382
Hray! This week TJ's fiancé Taylor Hoover joins us to close down the bar, avoid the insults, and drink up all the dregs left over! Find out just what disqualifies one from becoming a limousine lady, the logistics behind transcribing crowd noise, and the relationship between Joyce, Charles Marowitz, and Tron: Legacy. Don't hide, seek this week's episode of WAKE!
(Apologies for the sound quality on
Bonus Episode: Richard Harte
Richard Harte is one of the world's preeminent interpreters of Joyce: a 25 year veteran of Bloomsday performances, and the undisputed star of One Little Goat Theatre Company's parallel (not competing) Finnegans Wake podcast, currently under development as a film and exhaustive live chronicle of the Earwicker clan. When Toby joined the audience to watch his old friend Richard perform 1.5 of the Wak
Episode 24: 2.3 (Part 3), pp355-370
WAKE buys you a third round and settles in for yet another Tale at the Inn, where we prominently feature multiple guns, KC Jowls and the little-known horror film Coach with the Six Insides. We bid welcome to another of Toby's former students, Ryan Benson Smith, for a lively discussion that includes a Wake-Ramones mashup, the Bluey theme song, and how media romanticises the Irish. Along the way, we
Episode 23: 2.3 (Part 2), pp333-355
As the whiskey and Guinness flow, the Tales at the Inn get all the more outlandish, Taff and Butt get out of hand, and a Russian general cops it. This week in WAKE, we geek out about geeking out with Carly Derderian, consider whether Thornton Wilder cribbed The Skin of Our Teeth from Finnegans Wake, relax our mouths enough to speak like a Newfoundlander and unlock the meaning of the language of th
Episode 22: 2.3 (Part 1), pp309-332
It's a milestone episode of WAKE, as we sail past the halfway point on an auspicious anniversary day for Toby. TJ is out sick this week, so we checked our list of dream interim co-hosts and came up with a winner: Toby's brilliant former dramaturgy student, K'hari Constantine! Toby and K'hari dive into the first part of Tales at the Inn, with the detailed story of the Norwegian Captain, and along t
Episode 21: 2.2 (Part 3), pp293-308
Welcome to WAKE, where language is king! This week we reach the thrilling conclusion of the Night Lessons episode, and get into a little bit of analysis amidst the chaos that reigns when TJ's internet drops out mid-recording. We discuss Neil's ongoing beef against Cognitive Science and the laws of language, discover the benefits to earning knowledge, and establish all the reasons we should
Episode 20: 2.2 (Part 2), pp277-292
Just like a well-ordered barndance, Toby, TJ, and Neil shuffle one step the right to find new dance partners, with all new takes on the mighty columns of Night Lessons! With footnotes that would make David Foster Wallace blush, Latin, French, and a parenthetical that spans five entire pages, Joyce is really making us work this week. Come sit in the back of the classroom, keep your spitballs to you
Episode 19: 2.2 (Part 1), pp260-277
Grab your notebooks and start practicing your filthiest marginalia, it's Night Lessons time! When confronted with the most logistically challenging chapter of the Wake (columns! footnotes! diagrams! marginalia!), Toby and TJ sent out the Neil-Signal, and brought in our favourite purist-in-the-nicest sense, Neil Wechsler, to establish order. In this first part of three episodes reading this com
Episode 18: 2.1 (Part 2), pp240-259
The games are afoot on WAKE, but we are fortified and ready to cast our disapproving glances over the debauchery! For the second half of Chapter 2.1, we welcome genuine teenager, Cormac Malone, to start us off, before we churn our way to the door-slammiest of thunderwords yet. We consider whether reading the Wake is just like a Tough Mudder race, and whether HCE is Neo from the Matrix. Toby reveal
Episode 17: 2.1 (Part 1), pp219-240
Book Two is underway at the Wake, and it's taking the voices spanning three different continents to take us there. This week Toby and TJ are joined by the delightful Brit Lucy Brazier, author of Finnegans What? Finnegans Wake - a Guide by an Idiot to discuss inappropriate sibling games, river poo, Oscar Wilde, underwear fetishes, and Francophobia. Despite her book's subtitle, Lucy is no idiot, but
Episode 16: Book One Recap
We pause the reading of the Wake this week to look back on Book One: HCE, ALP, Shaun, Shem and Izzy have led us on a wild, rumour-filled ride, and we want to process that before we move on! In a free-wheeling conversation, we consider Natasha, Pierre, & the Great Comet of 1812, theatre riots, The Magus, Beowulf, the prophetic dream lucidity of Buffy Summers, Cain's Jawbone, I Think You Should
Episode 15: 1.8, pp196-216
It's the most watery episode of WAKE so far, as we cruise past the 1/3 complete mark and tackle the legendary 1.8: "Anna Livia." Toby takes hubris to a whole new level by attempting to read the entire chapter, cold, without breaks, or assistance, as TJ furiously circles all of the river-name puns. We discuss remarkably knowledgeable washerwomen, the fine line between gossip and mythology, how Joyc
Episode 14: 1.7 (Part 2), pp182-195
TJ is back, and WAKE, the podcast of the history of the future, rolls on its unstoppable way! This week, we consider just why siblings are generally awful to one another as Shaun reads Shem to filth to round out chapter 1.7. We discuss Toby's favourite bookstore (Lane Bookshop Claremont, represent!), Latin stories of bowel evacuation, the Mighty Ducks, Moby-Dick, and Alan Ayckbourn: so, in general
Episode 13: 1.7 (Part 1), pp169-182
It's a WAKE of firsts: the first episode recorded in Australia, the first episode with two guests, and, most difficult of all, the first episode without TJ! When schedules don't mesh, there's nothing for it but to plough on, for the Wake waits for no man (or musical workshop). This week comes to us from the echoey comforts of Toby's parents' house in Perth, where Mick and Jo Malone unveil their ro
Episode 12: 1.6 (Part 2), pp148-168
We would never consider ourselves mooks, nor would we gripe about the task in front of us, but finishing 1.6's Quiz (along with the needlessly complicated tale of the Mookse and Gripes) made us wonder whether Joyce might learn a little from Sad Girl Lit. We get a call from the other side of the planet and welcome Toby's hugely accomplished arts administrator sister, Georgia Malone, to talk about t
Episode 11: 1.6 (Part 1), pp126-148
For this week's perzacto episode, we are joined by world-changing director and all-round delight Aili Huber, as we consider the first half of the least user-friendly quiz in literary history. We have our first ever tap-out (it's easy to get lost on the page if your eye wanders), consider Dr Seuss, the gish gallop, and e.e. cummings, before we bring it all home by considering how Finnegans Wake mig
Episode 10: 1.5 (Part 2), pp113-125
Neil is back, and we are going to hear some opinions! TJ and Toby welcome the brilliant Neil Wechsler back to the pod to finish reading 1.5 and then get into some analysis of what we've heard over the last two episodes. We'll talk about the unexpected benefits of reading aloud, find out what feels just like a really good university course, and establish the Neil Wechsler drinking game to get you s
Episode 9: 1.5 (Part 1), pp104-113
The purists are here! The purists are here!
Toby and TJ get legit with the presence of long time lover of Joyce, a man who has read the Wake multiple times, and has used it as a major inspiration for his own work. Neil Wechsler is your favourite playwright's favourite playwright: an award-winning, cerebral, self-deprecating ball of energy who is here to show us that there are plenty of ways to be
Episode 8: 1.4 (Part 2), pp90-103
This week is the total piece of work that Wagner dreamed of, with GMWKS co-creator Jordan Morille joining Toby and TJ to take on the Wake! With a baby on his hip, and delving deep into his actor's experience, Jordan popcorn-reads from the second half of 1.4, where we meet disguised ex-nuns, Dirty Daddy Pantaloons, and TJ's 'Wake' tattoo quotation. Then, we consider the gesamtkunstwerk, Dada, Sigur
Episode 7: 1.4 (Part 1), pp75-90
WAKE loves guests! This Bloomsday week, Toby and TJ welcome the incomparable Dr. Natalie Hoskins, professor of communication, to give us her professional perspective on pleasure reading, broadcasting thoughts, and desperately looking for meaning in the subtext. Also, Natalie joins us to read from 1.4 of the Wake, where Festy King defends himself, HCE hides in a coffin, and Kate Strong seeks more t
Episode 6: 1.3 (Part 2), pp61-74
The attacks come thick and fast on HCE in this week's reading of WAKE, from court appearances to name-calling, from canoodling to gun violence, it's amazing that he's able to rest at all. This week TJ reads the palimpsest that is Finnegans Wake, along with Toby and Toby’s brilliant 12 year old daughter, Bridie Malone, as we confront our growing international audience by producing little of actual
Bonus: The WAKE Community!
Thanks to a ringing endorsement from heroic bookcaster and comedy legend Michael Ian Black, WAKE has gone communal! That is, we've found a place to discuss the verbal maze that is The Wake. Join us at www.patreon.com/WAKEpod!
Also, listen to Obscure: https://www.patreon.com/michaelianblack/posts
Episode 5: 1.3 (Part 1), pp48-61
Joyce promised 'Sdense' in 1.3 and boy did he deliver! This week Toby and TJ learn their lesson for being overly confident last time with a dose of reality. For the first half of this challenging chapter, we discuss Wake-inspired tattoos, how to handle critics and slanderers, and find a use for sharkskin smokewallet!
This week's readers: Toby Malone
Progress: 61 pages complete, 567 pages to go; 9.
Episode 4: 1.2 (Part 2), pp44-47
WAKE gets musical! We welcome our first guest, musical genius Meg Logue, who has arranged and performed potentially the most melodious cover ever of The Ballad of Persse O'Reilly. We discuss gravelly voiced Irishmen, German opera, singing at wakes, and agree that we'd all like a sip of whatever Poolbeg's on.
This week's readers: Meg Logue, Toby Malone
Progress: 47 pages complete, 581 pages to go;
Episode 3: 1.2 (Part 1), pp30-44
WAKE rolls on like so many thunderwords, as we explore the first part of Chapter 1.2 of Finnegans Wake. We consider the slanders heaped on poor old HCE (Here Comes Everybody), tiptoe around racially problematic language, and ponder whether speedcasting Joyce on a treadmill is an incentive for cardiac health.
This week's readers: Toby Malone
Progress: 44 pages complete, 584 pages to go; 7% read.
Episode 2: 1.1 (Part 2), pp16-29
Against all odds, WAKE chugs along, and we finish chapter 1! Toby and TJ discuss Wake-inspired band names, typography, and bring the dramatic in a performance of Mutt and Jute.
This week's readers: Toby Malone, TJ Young
Progress: 29 pages complete, 599 pages to go; 4.62% read.
For early drops, community and show notes, join us at our free Patreon, at patreon.com/wakepod. We welcome
Episode 1: 1.1 (Part 1), pp3-16
The WAKE reading begins in earnest, with the first half of chapter 1! Join Toby and TJ as we discuss thunder, museyrooms, and Joyce casually dropping poetic gems on the first page.
This week's readers: Toby Malone
Progress: 16 pages complete, 612 pages to go; 2.55% read.
For early drops, community and show notes, join us at our free Patreon, at patreon.com/wakepod. We welcome commen
Episode 0: Context
WAKE is a cold reading of Joyce's Finnegans Wake, just because. Today, in a preamble episode, we start by unravelling some of the history of the book, before the reading starts.
For early drops, community and show notes, join us at our free Patreon, at patreon.com/wakepod. We welcome comments from everyone: even, nay, especially, the dreaded purists. Come and "um actually"
WAKE: Trailer
Come for the thunderwords, stay for the fun. WAKE: Cold Reading Finnegans Wake, on Apple Podcasts and Spotify now.
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