James Joyce Autobiography

James Joyce Autobiography

Full Name: Mr. James Augustine Aloysius Joyce
Date of Birth: February 2, 1882
Place of Birth: Dublin, Ireland
Died: January 13, 1941
Place of Death: Zürich, Switzerland
Classification: Artists & Entertainers



Known as one of the most prominent, if not prolific writers of the 20 th century, James Joyce was able to expand, add to, and build upon already established genres of his time. In his most famous works, namely Ulysses and Finnegan’s Wake, Joyce established himself as a writer of epic tales filled with vivid portrayals of life, love, and art.

With ten siblings vying for an education, James Joyce was able to attend a private boarding school for some of his childhood. This sparked his imagination and his devotion to learning. His father was a wealthy man at that time, but soon drank himself and his family into poverty. Unable to attend his private education, young James was able to self-educate himself on borrowed books of his classmates and with the aid of his mother. However, within a couple of years, he and another brother won scholarships to attend a school in Dublin. While there, he decided he no longer believed in Catholic practices and thereafter did not return to the school, even though he was one of the top and most adored students.

Upon entering into the university in Dublin, he read widely and took part in literary and historical clubs of the time. By the time he was 18, he had already been published as a critic in the London Fortnightly review, which allowed him to see that he was gifted enough to make it as a writer. He was able to graduate from university with a degree in Latin in 1902, but he kept on writing, which was his main goal. After receiving his BA, he thought about becoming a doctor to support himself and his future family, while continuing his writing. But those studies waned and he instead went to Paris in order to pursue his career amongst other artists on the forefront of literature.

Back in Ireland, James Joyce met Nora Barnacle and while the two were never married due to their own beliefs about the ceremony based on religion, they left Ireland and had two children together. The two moved to Austria-Hungry and then went on to spend some time in Rome. While there, Joyce worked as a banker, but felt the job was wasting his time and keeping him from his first love – writing.

While in Zurich due to the Italian War, he worked even harder on Ulysses. He received a grant from one Edith Rockefeller McCormick and from the editorial team of Egoist magazine, and with some significant financial backing, he was able to not only care for his family, but also devote his energies full time to his writing. During this time, he also searched for a printer for A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. It was published by Weaver under the English Egoist Press and released in the United States before it was banned there. Ulysses was later published by Shakespeare and Company in Paris and received great critical acclaim. Ulysses by James Joyce has gone down in history as one of the greatest novels ever written for its interior monologue that develops the story, which helped to set the precedent of 20 th century literature that followed