James Joyce In Zürich by Kevin Reynolds
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What significance does Zürich hold in James Joyce's life?
Drama on 1.
You're listening to RTE Radio 1. Drama on 1 is offered as a podcast at rte.ie forward slash drama on 1 and on the RTE radio player. Ahead of the Bloomsday celebrations this Tuesday, we have a Joyce-ian special tonight. The James Joyce Foundation in Zurich came into existence in 1985 after a string of coincidences which we'll hear about in a few moments. To commemorate the anniversary of James Joyce's death in Zurich on January 13, 1941, Ursula Zeller, Ruth Frainer and Fritz Senn from the James Joyce Foundation shared their stories with Kevin Reynolds. This is James Joyce in Zurich.
Turn right on Augustinagus, then in 10 metres. The destination is on your right.
This is now the only building in Zurich that really has a plaque about Joyce's stay here. There was no doubt about it.
If you wanted to succeed, you had to go away. You could do nothing in Dublin.
Joyce is the best writer Durek ever had. I give over your bloody cotton, Joyce. If I were thirsty, I wouldn't sell for half a crown. We are now in Frito-Flunten and we are walking up to the grave of James Joyce.
The resurrection and the life. Once you are dead, you are dead. That last day idea. Knocking them all up out of their graves. Come forth, Lazarus. And he came fifth and lost the job.
We're sort of an outpost of Ireland here. Arrived at Ursula Zeller's home.
How did the James Joyce Foundation come into existence?
Hello. Hello. Hello, Kevin, Ursula. Ursula, how are you? Lovely to meet you.
Pleasure to meet you.
You're welcome. Thank you, thank you. From the Joyce Foundation in Zurich.
Thank you.
This is my colleague, Ruth.
Hello, Ruth. Kevin, Kevin. How are you, Ruth? Nice to meet you.
So, what shall I do? What shall I do? Okay, first we'll say hello to Fritz.
Yes.
Hello, Fritz. You seem to be equipped well, huh? I just start immediately.
One day in the National Library, we had a discussion. My name is Fritz Chen. I'm from Zurich, born in Basel, but I grew up in Zurich.
What interesting stories do the guests share about Joyce's time in Zürich?
I'm now 96. I'll continue for as long as I can when I'm still compos mentis. It's also a social institution. Now, people come. It's a second home, huh? A noiseless attendant setting open the door, but slightly, made him a noiseless beck.
This place is a fairly small place. It used to be a bourgeois apartment. an old building in the old part of town. The foundation houses one of the largest, if not the largest, research library on Joyce. It comprises nearly 10,000 books and journals. And the core of this library, about 2,000 books, are from Fritz's private Joyce library.
What is this she was? Barmaid in juries, or the Moira, was it?
So the foundation's history started in the 1970s and it started with a Cold War story. There was this hotel on Dame Street, Jury's Hotel, which was demolished in the 1970s. And part of its interiors were put to auction, among them Jury's Antique Bar in late Victorian style, one of the precious parts of that hotel. And a Swiss guy took part in that auction. a man named Albert Bachmann. And it was actually him who won the bid. So he purchased it and shipped it to Switzerland. And Albert Bachmann was an interesting figure, rather dubious character. He was an officer in the Swiss army, in the military secret service, actually. And he was also a fanatic cold warrior. So out of fear that Albert The Soviet Union might invade Switzerland or start an atomic war.
He made plans for a Swiss government in exile. And apparently he read in an American newspaper that the south of Ireland, Cork, was the safest place in Europe. So he's looking for a place and eventually he found this estate, Lizard Estate. He purchased it. But he did not do so in his capacity as a Secret Service officer. He did it privately and he got some friends on board. And so it was all paid privately. But then it came to light in the late 1970s. He was exposed. He was quite a scandal in Switzerland. And he was immediately, of course, fired. So he went into early retirement and he returned to Ireland, to Cork, to this artist state. And he died there in 2011. He was an Ireland fan.
I think he had fantasies like the Russians would ever come.
He would have the government in the hotels, like de Gaulle, you know.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What significance does Zürich hold in James Joyce's life?
0:00–2:14
2
How did the James Joyce Foundation come into existence?
2:14–3:01
3
What interesting stories do the guests share about Joyce's time in Zürich?
3:01–6:34
4
How did James Joyce's stay in Zürich influence his writing?
6:34–11:27
5
What role did Alfred Vogt play in Joyce's life?
11:27–16:37
6
What challenges did Joyce face during World War I?
16:37–20:42
7
What impact did Joyce's family have on his life and work?
20:42–24:38
8
What legacy did James Joyce leave behind in Zürich?
24:38–51:00