Literature toursim

Here in Dublin large but tastefully illustrated brass markers highlight literary events which happened in the city. Brass markers all around Dublin record the paces of Leopold Bloom in James Joyce's epic novel, Ulysses, on June 16, 1904. The event is a world wide celebration of literature. People have christened it Bloom's Day and thousands of readers of Joyce gather in Dublin the celebrate the book. So every June 16th, an economic boom hits Dublin. Students on our tour have been out taking pictures of the markers.

Denver has no equivalent. I guess the closest we could do with our short literary history is to commemorate Jack Kerouac's watching baseball at 23rd and Welton or remember his drinking a beer at My Brother's Bar. Perhaps we could find out where Mary Chase imagined Harvey living in Denver from her play by the same name. And while we have many fine writers who use Denver as the backdrop for their stories, we may have to wait awhile for the city to recognize literature as an economic development tool.

And remember Denver has torn down much of it's history. Gone are buildings of historic note which played out the lives of some of our important literary and historic characters. In Dublin if anyone tries to touch a building mentioned by Joyce in any of his stories, the whole nation gets into an uproar. It is not uncommon for the president or prime minister to intervene in such economic decisions.

Was it Moliere who said: "True art knows no bounds?"

Professor Matt Daly, Director of the Business Division at Regis University, and fellow faculty member on our Regis student tour approves of the business technique used by inn owner Rory O'Conneely on Inish Oirr. Inish Oirr (pronounced 'ear,' is the smallest of the Aran Island chain off the coast of Galway. Rory and his wife Anna operate Tig Ruari, meaning 'Rory's House' in the Irish Language. Foreign languages spoken on the island include English. Our Regis tour stayed there with Rory and Anna last week for two days on our literary and history tour of this country.

When Rory sees you he shakes your hand and says, "Welcome Home." Professor Daly is the expert on business techniques and he and I agree this personal, eye-to-eye, heart to heart communication is the best for long term business alliances.

Cicero summed it all up so well so many years ago when he said: "Cor ad cor loquitur. Heart speaks to heart." And isn't that the best communication for any relationship. We can learn from Rory and Anna and their 'mi casa es su casa' business theme.