James Joyce

James Joyce, born February 2, 1882, in Dublin, Ireland, was a seminal modernist writer whose innovative narrative techniques profoundly shaped 20th-century literature. His most distinguished work, "Ulysses" (1922), employs stream-of-consciousness and parallels with Homer's epic to explore a single day in Dublin. Joyce's earlier collection of short stories, "Dubliners" (1914), vividly portrays the everyday lives of Dublin's residents with a striking realism. Another notable work, "A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man" (1916), offers a semi-autobiographical insight into the development of an artist. Joyce published his final novel, "Finnegans Wake," in 1939, a complex, multilayered narrative that challenged conventional forms. He passed away on January 13, 1941, in Zurich, Switzerland.