ballistics, etc.

[Paul J. Mackin]

On Fri, 13 Oct 1995, Peter Trachtenberg wrote:

> It seems to me that TRP's historical and scientific perfectionism--his 
> aforementioned meticulousness when it comes to adhering to the factual 
> (or should I say making the factual adhere to his fiction?) has an 
> antecedent in Joyce. When writing ULYSSES, JJ mercilessly badgered 
> friends and relatives for reminiscences and news clippings of June 18. 
> You can read about it in Ellman's biography. As an imaginative writer, I 
> also find it necessary to find a factual anchor for speculation, partly 
> for my own sake, lest I succumb to the creative equivalent of altitude 
> sickness, and partly for the sake of the reader. Because when you set out 
> to invent a new world, you have to give the reader something that 
> resembles the comforting earth on which he--or she--used to stand.
> 
> 
	I agree with everything except the date. Wasn't Bloomsday
June 16th? Joyce is my other favorite author.

			Paul