Antedating of James Joyce quote

[Joel S. Berson]

At 1/15/2010 10:08 PM, Jonathan Lighter wrote:
>Yale quotes this famous dictum at third hand from Lucas, 1936.
>
>1931 Max Eastman in _Harper's Magazine_ (Oct.): [Joyce said to me] "The
>demand that I make of my reader is that he should devote his whole life to
>reading my works."

Some have.  Aloud, in groups.  One just finished in Boston:
http://www.boston.com/ae/celebrity/articles/2010/01/14/cheers_to_the_end_of_finnegans_wake/
or http://tinyurl.com/y8jaqtp

Thirteen years ... but they met only once a week "to read a page or
so".  I assume they were devoting the rest of their lives to
research, exegesis, and rehearsal.  But having started at the Thirsty
Scholar in Cambridge and finished at the Corrib in Brighton, I expect
they spent some time in contemplation of their cups (cf. illustration).

Joel

>He smiled as he said that - smiled and then repeated it.
>And my answer was, "You absolutely insist on giving them all that pleasure!"
>
>Gaak.
>
>JL

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