(auto)biography

[Paul Mackin]

On Fri, 12 Jan 1996, Juan Cires Martinez wrote:

> 
>   "Its symmetries, its latencies, the *cuteness* of it enchanted and
>    seduced us while the real Text persisted, somewhere else, in its
>    darkness, our darkness ... even this far from Sudwest we are not to
>    be spared the ancient tragedy of lost messages, a curse that will
>    never leave us ..."
> 						      -- Thomas Pynchon
> 						      Gravity's Rainbow
> 
> This is exactly why I think the (auto)biography would be out of sync.
> "The ancient tragedy of lost messages" is all over his novels,
> everything is a text hanging in the air, inside the novels -- the texts
> -- and outside: his hiding translates this "curse" to the reader.  It
> would be consistent with his writing if he (the real Text) remained in
> "our darkness".


Interesting idea. Certainly authors have been known to live out their
fictions in their real lives. Fun to think this might apply to P.

Or, alternatively, we may not be dealing with fiction at all, but 
sincerely held fact. P. can claim it's not _his_ fault that the real
message (him) never gets delivered. It's in the nature of things. The law of 
the jungle.

Sort of reminds me of a "lost message" I sent a while back about
the cruelty of Pynchon in not revealing himself to his readers.
Maybe there was a reason that message was left dangling.

Good work, Juan.

					P.