River Ruminations

From A Reading Life, A Writing Life, with Sally Bayley by Sally Bayley, Andrew Smith

November 30, 2025 · 15 min · Episode 90

About this episode

Sally Bayley reflects on writing, embodiment, and her morning swim while discussing James Joyce's Ulysses.

‘Writing for me is always an embodied experience of flow…’ This week we join Sally at home, as she prepares to start her day, thinking in particular about her morning swim. Listen for a meditation on writing and reflecting on one’s environment, embodiment, and the interaction between thought and space, featuring James Joyce’s Ulysses (1922). The wonderful piano music in the opening section is ‘Tuesday’, by Paul Seba. More information on Paul and his work can be found here. This episode was edited and produced by James Bowen. Special thanks to Andrew Smith, Violet Henderson, Kris Dyer, and Maeve Magnus.

People in this episode

Hosts: Sally Bayley, Andrew Smith

Topics covered

writing
reflection
embodiment
environment
morning swim
James Joyce

Keywords

writing
reflection
embodiment
environment
Ulysses
morning swim
James Joyce

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: Ulysses