Blog: books

Intellectual Snobbery

I work at a company that sells books for children and young adults. One of the perks of working there is the ability to buy any book the company sells, or at least has previously sold and had returned, at an extreme discount (in most cases, about a 90% discount). Therefore, I've had occasion to buy and read many of these books, most of which I've enjoyed. Now, to be clear, I'm an adult and I've read books written specifically for adults, and I like them, too. I've even read and enjoyed the kind of books that some adults fear to read because they're, well... esoteric, to say the least (I'm this close to finishing Finnegans Wake, really). Of course, I've also read the kind of books meant for adults that are basically literary candy. While some books may be a full meal, or even a feast, these are good for a nice treat but not satisfying in the long term (Michael Moorcock, I'm looking at you). No matter how you classify them, however, they're all books. They all require the ability to read for one to understand…

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James Joyce and Batman

In James Joyce’s final work, Finnegans Wake, there are two times that the word “batman” appears. I first assumed, when I came across the word, that there was no way he was referring to Bruce Wayne’s alter ego. More likely, he was referencing a British military officer’s servant. Out of curiosity, however, I checked the exact publishing date of the first printing of Finnegans Wake as well as the date of the first appearance of Batman in Detective Comics #27.

Finnegans Wake was published on May 4th, 1939.

Detective Comics #27 has a cover date of May 1939.

Of course, even as far back as the 1930s, comic book cover dates have always been two months later than the actual publish date. Therefore, it was probably actually released in March of 1939. Would Joyce have been able to see the first appearance of Batman and put some reference to him in Finnegans Wake during that two month period? Probably not. But it’s not impossible.

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