According to my notes, this lecture—written the night before its recitation, in response to the general tone of the workshops—was prefaced by offhand statements about how the theme "Nomadology and The War Machine" as it relates to creative writing made me ‘want to wonder why I even write still.’
An early editor of a magazine who would run an excerpt of Ulysses found themselves in a quandary during typesetting of Joyce’s piece: the material did not fill the space. The editor envisioned a fuller page, perhaps, barring the far end of the layout, and saw fit then to go and inquire with their liaison between the author if Joyce might see fit to expand the work to fit their needs. The liaison, horrified, told the editor that they would never ask the famous author to append their work for publication; that it would be offensive to the artist, even profane to suggest the living legend bend to the needs of a medium. They sent the editor away coldly scolded then and went about the day, happy to have defended the sanctity of language under wraps. Later, after receiving a copy of the publication and finding the Joyce’s piece indeed expanded, filling out the page just as the editor had wished, the liaison heard back that the editor had ignored the liaison’s tongue-lashing, and gone directly to Joyce himself; Joyce had welcomed the editor in, heard their request, and jubilantly agreed to make the work, adding sentences to the manuscript freehand between the margins, relishing the opportunity to expand.
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