On June 16, the Embassy of Ireland in Abuja hosted a discussion panel in celebration of Bloomsday.

For those who are not familiar with the term, Bloomsday is the commemoration of the life and works of the great Irish writer James Joyce.

The discussion panel, titled “From Joyce to Soyinka,” featured linguist Kọ́lá Túbọ̀sún and literary scholar Dr. Adrian Paterson. Aduke Gomez moderated the event.

The discussants explored the theme of isolation in Joyce and Wole Soyinka’s works. Túbọ̀sún and Dr. Paterson presented opening remarks in the form of short lectures, in which they drew really fascinating parallels between not just the works of Joyce and Soyinka but also their lives.

During the Q&A, interesting points were made about exile, language, and literary canons. Look out for the very end of the video when Túbọ̀sún and Dr. Adrian reflect on the link between isolation and creativity.

Enjoy!