Conference news

[John M. Krafft]

  The organizers of the conference on the twentieth anniversary of the
publication of _Gravity's Rainbow_ regret to announce that they have cancelled
their original plans for sessions in London and Germany during July~August 1993. 
Several factors led to this unhappy decision: six months of soliciting for
funding, both in the US and abroad, yielded no results and very little
encouragement; attempts to identify a significant number of European scholars as
participants failed; the current recession and the sharp slump in the dollar made
planning to attend a conference involving heavy travel expenses impossible for
many scholars whose institutions are cutting support for research and travel. 
In short, mounting a London/Germany conference out of reach for many colleagues,
especially younger ones whose presence and contributions would be crucial, hardly
seemed to serve the purposes of the author or readers of _Gravity's Rainbow_.
  Nevertheless, the organizers are still interested in hearing from potential
conference participants about the possibilities for a smaller-scale event in the
US, most likely as an adjunct to an existing conference (thus also reducing
administrative and set-up demands).  Four possible candidates are the Twentieth-
Century Literature Conference in Louisville in February, the Narrative Conference
at Rensselaer Polytechnic in April, the ALA conference in Baltimore in May, and
The Society for Literature and Science conference in October (tentatively
scheduled for Cambridge, MA).  The organizers, listed below, are eager to hear
suggestions about these (or other) possible venues and about possible conference
activities.

John M. Krafft (English, Miami University--Hamilton)
  E-mail: JMKRAFFT at MIAVX2.HAM.MUOHIO.EDU
Helmut Mueller-Sievers (German, Northwestern University)
  Fax (5-page maximum): 708-491-3877
Lance Schachterle (English/Project Center, Worcester Polytechnic Inst.)
  E-mail: LSCHACHTERLE at JAKE.WPI.EDU
Joseph W. Slade (Telecommunications, Ohio University)
  E-mail: LEEJ at OUVAXA.UCLS.OHIOU.EDU

  Many thanks to those who encouraged us to proceed with our ambitious plans. 
We hope something can be salvaged for 1993--and of course know that now we have
five years to plan the quarter-century celebration.


***


  Can Anyone Write a Biography of Pynchon?--a panel organized by Lance
Schachterle, with featured speakers Joseph Slade and Joseph Tabbi, to be held at
the Society for Literature and Science conference in Atlanta, October 8-11, 1992.
(The session is tentatively scheduled for late afternoon on Friday, October 9.) 
What motivates Pynchon to preserve his privacy, a task certainly as daunting as,
say, Norman Mailer's efforts to garner public exposure?  Prof. Schachterle hopes
the panel will stimulate interest in the cultural phenomenon of a major author
choosing total privacy in the Age of Publicity.  He would also be interested in
knowing whether Pynchon readers would find some venue or format for regular
discussions of Pynchon of any utility. Should a Pynchon session become a regular
part of the annual meeting of the SLS or the American Literature Association? 
Despite the fact that a "Pynchon Society" seems a non-sequitur, or a jape on the
Peter Pinguid Society, he would like to float the idea and hear responses.  He
is not suggesting and would be sorry to see an MLA-like situation where we "have"
to mount a session to maintain some corporate status.