Lewis, Percy Wyndham (1884- 1957) - "Vorticist" painter, writer, whose works include Tarr, "Cantelman's Spring Mate", The Childermass, Hitler, and "An Analysis of the Mind of James Joyce" which appeared in W. L's journal, Blast, and was reprinted as part of Time and Western Man (1928). Almost all W. L's books are named in FW. Joyce said W. L. was his best hostile critic and ten per cent right about Joyce and his works. W. L. seems to me to have been a clever, dirty infighter, spasmodically brilliant, a nasty piece of goods with detestable ideas (virulent anti-feminism, antisemitism, anti-nigger, anti-children, anti-anything-small), a perfectly splendid piece of literary copy. 

    Joyce retaliated in FW (then a work in progress) by using W. L. (it was a kind of afterthought) as the principal model for Shaun, especially Shaun as Professor Jones, a teacher of little boys who imagines himself pope. "No. 11 [i.e., FW 151-68] is A in his know-all profoundly impressive role for which an 'ever devoted friend' (so his letters are signed) [Ellmann, 607, shows the 'ever devoted friend' was W. L.] unrequestedly consented to pose (Letters, I, 257-58).

    W. L. then attacked Joyce and his works in the first part of The Childermass, either by the mouths of, or in the persons of, Bailiff, Belcanto, Pullman and Satters, and a molting Phoenix. Joyce attacks W. L. not only in "No. 11" but as Brutus, Ondt, Enemy, Hound, Henry Carr, Lewis Carroll, Alice; and - W. L. being Joyce's identical opposite - he is frequently linked to Dedalus. W. L. is indicated by just about all permutations of "wind" and "nous" and of "time" and "space." The mutual savaging or flyting of Joyce and Lewis is extended, specific, detailed, and badly needs to be studied. Who won the flyting - I mean the real-life fighting, not the picture of it in the writing of Joyce and Lewis? I think that, for sheer nastiness and a fine instinct for his opponent's jugular vein, Lewis won hands down; I think that, as the better literary artist, Joyce came out of the fight with a masterly picture of the Enemy.  

Glasheen, Adaline / Third census of Finnegans wake

1977