IV.B.11: Occasional Verses
“A Portrait of the Artist as an Ancient Mariner” (1932)
Material Description and Collation
The manuscript is a sheet of unlined tan paper; single-spaced top (original) black ribbon copy, with corrections in Joyce’s hand in black ink.
Title
“A PORTRAIT OF THE ARTIST AS AN ANCIENT MARINER“.
Measurements
The manuscript measures 26.6 x 20.9 cm.
Contents
The manuscript is a poem about Joyce’s publishing issues with Ulysses in 1932.
Dating
Joyce wrote this poem in October 1932.
Other Markings
Joyce initialed and dated the manuscript “J. J. | Oct. ’32” below the text.
Publication
The manuscript has been reproduced in black and white photo-facsimile on JJA 1.353 and appeared in JJII (pp. 654–655) and then was published in PSW, p. 143–144.
Notes
Joyce gave this manuscript to Sylvia Beach (see Buffalo MS X.C.244; Joyce to Beach; 30 October 1932; JJSB, p. 185). There is carbon copy of this typescript, without corrections, and two further, different typescript copies in the Zurich James Joyce Foundation as part of the Jahnke Bequest.
There is a note with the manuscript in Sylvia Beach’s hand in blue ink that reads: “referring to the Albatross Press | edition of Ulysses”. The manuscript was folded twice horizontally and once vertically.