IV.B.8: Occasional Verses

“Father O’Ford” (probably 1931)

Material Description and Collation

The manuscript consists of 2 sheets of unlined rolled paper, with an ornamental watermark of two arms connected at the elbow, both in armor and wielding a hand axe, which were torn from a tablet at the upper edge. They are a double-spaced top (original) black ribbon copy and a bottom (carbon) copy also in black ink.

Title

“Father O’Ford | (Air: Father O’Flynn)”.

Measurements

The manuscript measures 24.7 x 20.8 cm.

The manuscript is a song about Ford Madox Ford.

Dating

Joyce probably wrote this manuscript in late 1930 or early 1931 in Paris (see unpublished letter from Joyce to Harriet Shaw Weaver; 16 February 1931, cited in JJII 803 n116).

Other Markings

“James Joyce” is typed below the text and below it on the top copy only “1930” was written in pencil, probably by Sylvia Beach.

Publication

The top copy sheet of this manuscript has been reproduced in black and white photo-facsimile on JJA 1.343 and appears in JJII (pp. 635–636n) and then was published in PSW, p. 138.

Notes

Joyce gave this manuscript to Sylvia Beach. There is a note with the manuscript in Beach’s hand in blue ink that reads: “FM Ford | his conquests”. There are perforations on both sheets, where they were stapled. The top sheet has been repaired with tape, probably by Beach. The sheets are folded in half horizontally and vertically. There is another version of this verse in the Beinecke Library, Yale University (see JJA 1.342).

James Joyce Collection