James Augustine Aloysius Joyce was an Irish novelist, poet, and literary critic who became one of the most influential and important writers of the 20th century. He made significant contributions to the modernist movement, fundamentally changing how literature could be written and experienced. Joyce's most celebrated work is Ulysses, published in 1922. This landmark novel parallels the episodes of Homer's Odyssey through a variety of literary styles, with stream of consciousness being particularly prominent. The novel is considered a cornerstone of modernist literature. Beyond Ulysses, Joyce produced several other major works including Dubliners, a short-story collection published in 1914, and the novels A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man (1916) and Finnegans Wake (1939). In addition to his novels and short stories, Joyce wrote two books of poetry, a play, and maintained a body of correspondence and occasional journalism throughout his career.