Fred Ryan
Fred
Ryan
In Brief
The smallest unpaid debt in Stephen's list in Nestor
is owed to "Fred Ryan," a writer who with William
Kirkpatrick Magee ("John Eglinton") co-edited a literary and
intellectual magazine called Dana. In Scylla and
Charybdis Stephen is seen trying to place his
Shakespeare theory in this journal. Joyce's own record of
submissions was mixed: the editors rejected his essay "A
Portrait of the Artist" but published his poem "My love is in
a light attire," which three years later he included in Chamber
Music.
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Dublin-born Frederick Michael Ryan, a writer of strong
socialist convictions with interests in science and economics,
was some years older than Joyce. Nicholas Allen writes in the
Dictionary of Irish Biography that he was born on 12
October 1873. (Gifford, Slote, and Igoe say 1876, but the
exact date in Allen's account suggests better information.)
Ryan made a living working for an accounting firm while
practicing journalism on the side. He edited three small
magazines (Dana, the National Democrat,
and Egypt) and one newspaper (the English-language
version of the Egyptian Standard). His own works
included The Laying of the Foundations, a play about
moneyed interests and the working class, which the Irish
National Theatre (an organization which he helped found)
produced at the Antient
Concert Rooms in late 1902. In 1906 he published a book
titled Criticism and Courage and Other Essays. He also
wrote essays for various journals under his own name and the
pseudonyms "Finian" and "Irial."
Dana, a monthly publication, began its run in May 1904
and closed down after the April 1905 issue. The title refers
to a Celtic fertility goddess whom Stephen self-interestedly
mentions in Scylla and Charybdis: "As we, or mother
Dana, weave and unweave our bodies...from day to day,
their molecules shuttled to and fro, so does the artist weave
and unweave his image." The journal was publishing writers of
the Irish Literary Renaissance, and Stephen is angling to join
their company. Later in the chapter he hears the voices of
John Eglinton and others saying, "Synge has promised me an
article for Dana too. Are we going
to be read? I feel we are. The Gaelic league wants something
in Irish."
At still another point in the library chapter Eglinton tells
Stephen, "I don't see why you should expect payment for it
since you don't believe it yourself." He continues, "You are
the only contributor to Dana who asks for pieces of
silver. Then I don't know about the next number. Fred Ryan
wants space for an article on economics." In the interior
monologue that follows, Stephen recalls the two shillings he
owes Ryan: "Fraidrine. Two pieces of silver he lent me.
Tide you over. Economics."
