Carol Wade

My challenge is to illustrate Finnegans Wake as I read and understand it. My work is underpinned with historical references and the humour in the book

[Carol Wade @artofthewake]

It was an honour to be received by President Michael D. Higgins in Áras an Uachtaráin today and to present him with a painting of Maolra Seoighe, wrongly convicted of and sentenced for the Maamtrasna murders. Seoighe was posthumously pardoned by the President six years ago today

[President of Ireland @PresidentIRL]

President Higgins today received Des Gunning, founder member of the Joyceborough Finnegans Wake Reading Group, and members of the FW85 group at Áras an Uachtaráin to mark the 85th anniversary of the publication of James Joyce’s “Finnegans Wake’.

[Carol Wade @artofthewake]

Finnegans Wake in Japanese, translated by Kenji Hayakawa, with a thoughtful plot summary by Dr. Yuta Imazeki. https://t.co/Xg0ZUVWtFV

[Carol Wade @artofthewake]

Thank you, Kenji Hayakawa, for all your work
on this amazing project. It is a pleasure to work with you. Kenji hosts a Finnegans Wake live stream reading group in Japanese, bringing Joyce's work to new audiences. https://t.co/Xg0ZUVWtFV

[Carol Wade @artofthewake]

I feel incredibly privileged to have contributed to such a publication, and to continue this collaboration as the translation progresses (slowly but steadily!) toward future chapters — I.3, I.4, I.5 and beyond.

[Carol Wade @artofthewake]

The edition also includes a thoughtful plot summary by Dr. Yuta Imazeki, a scholar of Irish Literature in Japan, along with a translator’s note. The booklet was first created as a limited edition for a “Finnegans Quiz” event held in Tokyo on 4th February 2026.

[Carol Wade @artofthewake]

What moves me most is the sense of creative exchange — my paintings and the Japanese text creating what Kenji so beautifully described as a “kaleidoscopic chemistry.” It truly does leap from the page.

[Carol Wade @artofthewake]

This booklet brings my paintings into direct dialogue with a new Japanese translation of Finnegans Wake, with each image laid side-by-side with the text. The visual and verbal elements meet on the page in a way that feels alive — layered, shifting, and luminous.

[Carol Wade @artofthewake]

I’m absolutely delighted to share images from a very special publication close to my heart: Translation in Progress of Finnegans Wake, encompassing Book I, Chapter 2 of James Joyce’s extraordinary novel.

[Carol Wade @artofthewake]

‘Finnegans Wake’ finally translated into Chinese after 18 years of work by team of scholars | Irish Independent https://t.co/azkdICdbVx

[Carol Wade @artofthewake]

of identity, conflict, and the absurdities of life. The mention of characters like Grimshaw, with their comedic struggles, highlights the farcical elements in human experience, echoing the broader themes of chaos and rebirth prevalent throughout the novel
#JamesJoyce #KingArthur

[Carol Wade @artofthewake]

Page 132 #finneganswake
"he's as globeful as a gasometer of lithium and luridity and he was thrice ten anular years before he wallowed round Raggiant Circos; the cabalstone at the coping of his cavin is a canine constant but only an amiri-can could apparoxemete

[Carol Wade @artofthewake]

paralleling the complex characterisations found in Finnegans Wake.
Through this illustration and the associated text, Joyce continues to weave a tapestry of mythological, historical, and theatrical references that enrich the reader's understanding of the cyclical nature

[Carol Wade @artofthewake]

This connection to civic leadership reinforces the significance of the city itself in Joyce's work, intertwining historical figures and events with the rich tapestry of Dublin's identity, much like the enduring themes of history and rebirth that permeate the novel.
#jamesjoyce

[Carol Wade @artofthewake]

Page 131
"had two cardinal ventures and three capitol sinks; has a peep in his pocketbook and a packet-boat in his keep; B.V.H., B.L.G., P.P.M., T.D.S., V.B.D., T.C.H., L.O.N.; is Breakfates, Lunger, Diener and Souper; as the streets were paved with cold he felt his topperairy"

[Carol Wade @artofthewake]

Additionally, the initials mentioned in the text of page 131—"B.V.H., B.L.G., P.P.M., T.D.S., V.B.D., T.C.H., L.O.N."—likely represent the initials of several Lord Mayors of Dublin from the period between 1697 and 1923.