PHILADELPHIA — Former Vice President Joe Biden took a page from fellow 2020 Democratic candidate Peter Buttigieg’s playbook and mentioned acclaimed Irish writer James Joyce in his opening remarks at a Saturday afternoon campaign rally in Philadelphia.
“To paraphrase the poet James Joyce, I have to say this, folks, because I’m near my state, but when I die, Delaware will be written on my heart.”
Biden was referencing Joyce, who allegedly once said, “When I die, Dublin will be written on my heart.”
While Joyce did write poetry, he is better known for his novels like Finnegans Wake and Ulysses.
Buttigeig has also referenced Joyce on the campaign trail.
“Ulysses by James Joyce,” Buttiegieg answered in a tweet when asked which book affected him the most. “People view it as this inaccessible, mysterious, complicated opus… but it’s a very democratic book, about a guy going through life and the incredible depth and meaning to be found in the everyday.”
At previous rallies, Biden has cited other famous Western writers and thinkers like Immanuel Kant and Milton Friedman.
