Dear Great Book Guru,  I was at the great Red, White and Brass Concert sponsored by the Sea Cliff Civic Association and the Village of Sea Cliff last Sunday in Clifton Park. It was beautiful and while I was chatting with my friends Cee Wheeler  and Dennis Buckley,  someone said the next big Village event is the First Annual  Sea Cliff Bloomsday Walk. I had also heard this mentioned while I was on the Secret Garden Tour the day before.  Do you know any of the details and is there something I can do to prepare myself?                       Bloomsday Bon Vivant

Dear Bloomsday Bon Vivant,  I agree- it was a lovely concert- Phil Como  was the visionary that made it all happen- and yes, there will be a  Sea Cliff Bloomsday celebration this Saturday, June 16 at 8:30am (details are below).  Every  year around the world, Bloomsday is celebrated to commemorate James Joyce's novel ULYSSES which recounts in minute detail the events of June 16, 1904 as experienced by three Dubliners: Stephen Daedalus, Leopold Bloom, and Molly Bloom.  Joyce said " I want to give a picture of Dublin so complete that if one day the city suddenly disappeared from the earth it could be reconstructed out of my book." It is not an easy book but certainly not as difficult as many would insist.  My favorite approach is to listen to it being read; Joyce was a talented musician and his prose is truly lyrical.  You can download it from Sea Cliff Library's website or borrow it on CD. Another approach is to follow a simple guide such as THE NEW BLOOMSDAY BOOK by Harry Blamires or ULYSSES AND US by Declan Kieberd.  Of course, Saturday's walk will be very illuminating and not to be missed!

First Annual Sea Cliff Bloomsday Celebration- meet at the Sea Cliff Water Tower aka Martello Tower on Saturday, June 16 at 8:30am for a walk through the pages of James Joyce's ULYSSES. There will be brief readings at each stop along  this Joycean jaunt which will end at Sea Cliff Beach aka Dublin Bay.