Zurich James Joyce Foundation

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The Zurich James Joyce Foundation (ZJJF) cherishes the memory of the life and work of the Irish writer James Joyce as well as of his special relationship with Zurich , where he spent decisive years of his life, died in 1941 and was buried. The James Joyce Foundation in Zurich , headed by Fritz Senn and supervised by curators Ruth Frehner and Ursula Zeller , is an archive, documentation center, specialist library, literature museum and meeting place for researchers and reading groups and has established itself as a major European Joyce research center through numerous academic activities.

history

Fritz Senn during a meeting of the Finnegans Wake reading group of the ZJJF

The foundation was established on May 9, 1985 based on an idea by Renée Wolf in cooperation with the then Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Swiss Bank Corporation (SBG) Robert Holzach . The UBS covered the costs for the first six years. Various Zurich companies and the Canton of Zurich also made a financial contribution. Today the foundation is financially more or less independent.

The foundation was in the founding phase at Augustinergasse 28. In March 1989 it moved to Strauhof (Augustinergasse 9) and thus remained in a central location, in the immediate vicinity of Bahnhofstrasse .

activities

Translator workshop in the ZJJF

Since its inception, the foundation has been headed by the Swiss James Joyce specialist Fritz Senn. Together with the curators, Ruth Frehner (since 1985) and Ursula Zeller (since 1990), who prepare and supervise the diverse activities of the foundation in terms of content and concept and are in charge of various projects (exhibitions, publications, edition of the Sylvia Beach edition, events) , he developed the ZJJF into the central Central European Joyce research facility.

The foundation sees itself not only as a museum or library, but also promotes the examination of Joyce's life and work through exhibitions, events, reading groups, workshops, symposia and publications. Ultimately, she wants to reduce the public's fear of the author Joyce, who is considered difficult, which, among other things, serves the three reading groups who deal with Ulysses and Finnegans Wake on a weekly basis .

Stocks

Rooms of the Zurich James Joyce Foundation (ZJJF)

The foundation is the largest Joyce collection in continental Europe. Its centerpiece is the specialist library , which has around 250 meters of shelves and contains around 7000 works, including various editions of Joyce's works, including some first editions , illustrated editions and numerous collector's items. In addition to primary and secondary literature , the Foundation owns autographs , original editions, letters, photographs, records, specialist journals, posters, specialist publications, audio, video and DVD recordings of Joyce works and documentations as well as the following Joyce “ relics ”: a the two death masks , two walking sticks , a tie and one of his suitcases.

In figures, this means: 400 volumes of editions of works, 700 volumes of translations, 2800 volumes of Joyce secondary literature, 3200 volumes of reference works and other primary and secondary literature. There are also almost 200 autographs (almost half of them by Joyce), 600 sound carriers, 50 videos and DVDs, 100 volumes of a photo chronicle, hundreds of posters and image materials as well as thousands of separata.

Association of Friends of the Zurich James Joyce Foundation

The Association of Friends of the Zurich James Joyce Foundation was set up in 1987 to provide non-material and financial support to the foundation . Among other things, it awards short scholarships that enable Joyce researchers to research here for one or two months. In addition, the friends pay the fees for the “Strauhof lectures” and, together with the foundation, host the Bloomsday celebration . Last but not least, they also support contributions to book publications and other selected foundation projects.

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