Works on Paper: Experiments in Language and Sound presents a two-and-a-half-hour reading-performance of A Finnegans Wake Project by Seattle-based composer Neal Kosaly-Meyer. The performance is preceded by a short introductory lecture and a moderated discussion—lecture at 6:00 p.m. and performance at 7:30 p.m.

A Finnegans Wake Project, now in its eleventh year, is Kosaly-Meyer’s effort to learn and perform, from memory, and with acute attention to musical detail, each of the seventeen episodes of James Joyce’s final novel Finnegans Wake. Thus far, Kosaly-Meyer has performed all eight episodes of Finnegans Wake Part I, and the first episode of Part II. For this performance, Kosaly-Meyer will present Finnegans Wake, Part II, Chapter 1 (the ninth chapter), in its entirety.

The project has been the subject of articles and audio in The Stranger, The New York Times, NPR’s Morning Edition, and the Canadian Broadcasting Company’s As It Happens. It has been presented multiple times at the International James Joyce Symposium in Antwerp (2018), Mexico City (2019), online (2021) and Dublin (2022). In Dublin the performance was part of an intensive collaboration exploring the connections between Finnegans Wake and jazz.

Works on Paper: Experiments in Language and Sound is an event series highlighting artists working at the intersection of music and literature. This spring series is organized by David Abel and Robert Blatt, and it comprises nine events with activities ranging from performances to installations, readings, lectures, and walks. It runs from March 11 through June 3, 2023, at Passages Bookshop.

Works on Paper: Experiments in Language and Sound is funded in part by the Regional Arts & Culture Council.