James Joyce and I have long been connected, beginning with my birth three weeks after his death, on his birthday, February 2, 1940. My name, Candle, comes from this day, the Feast Of Candlemas.
I don’t claim to be an avatar of James Joyce, but I am deeply connected. So much, people gave me the nickname JJ. (We work from the same part of The Field.)
Like Joyce, I studied with the Jesuits, at Canisius College. This is where I first encountered Finnegans Wake. I dove into it and have remained immersed for over 50 years!
I have been reading Finnegans Wake aloud for decades, now reaching a world audience via the audiobook. Many people have been deeply moved, in a mind-shifing way, by the experience
I decided to record the whole book and share it with the world, because I feel it needs to be heard, not just read.
To download the complete unabridged 30 hour audiobook or to set up an in-person Reading, or to come to Kauai for an Intensive, contact me at my website.
Candle contributed an excerpt from his Wake reading to the Opendoor Edition of Waywords and Meansigns in 2017, page 403 line 1 through page 405 line 2.