Personal

[Jeff Carpenter]

An English/History major who graduated from Rice University in 1977, Jeff has
been lurking the Pynchon list for over a month.

It occurs to Jeff that the personal revelation contained herein would be an
anathema to him that brought us together.  

For instance, that Jeff has been married 18 years, and has two teenage
daughters.  

Or that Jeff is employed by a French Oil conglomerate's American exploration
subsidiary, in the negotiations and contracts department  handling, not
surprisingly, negotiations and contracts.     He is not a lawyer but works with
them regularly. He has chased a paycheck up and down Interstate 45  since 1980.
His office is in downtown Houston, Texas and he commutes an hour to and from
work, doing most of his reading on the bus.

Or that he has most recently finished reading Infinite Jest, which he felt to
be well worth the time and is currently re-reading V. (as a result of joining
this list). He thinks that Monduagen's story is the best of V. He liked COL49
very much, and Vineland not so much (although a re-reading may be in order). He
also is currently  reading the history book Millenium (Felipe
Fernandez-Armesto) which is full of the obscure historical anecdotes he so
loves.  He nurtures a passion for Civil War history, and thus is most intrigued
by the rumor of TRP's next work being about this subject.

Or that  Faulkner is his favorite classic writer, perhaps because he (Jeff)
grew up in Mississippi.  He has also read most of the 19th and early 20th
century writers mentioned by other correspondents. There are many newer writers
mentioned on the list that he has not read, but intends to now although he
became extremely depressed after reading Harold Bloom's proposed Canon and
realized that he would never read it all.  This depression recurs weekly after
reading the NY Times Book Review, and for the same reason.

Or that in college he wrote two papers  on GR.  He barely remembers the first,
which he thinks had something to do with the symbolism of bridges or arches or
something and may have focused on Tchitcherine's meeting with Enzian after
making love with Geli Tripping. The second paper was titled "History and
Anti-History in Pynchon's Gravity's Rainbow". Since he was once fond of
dichotomies, this seemed the perfect subject.  The paper theorized that true
history (which Jeff believes lies in an attempt to explain human action)  was
not to be found in Pointsman's linear theory of history, where one event causes
and/or explains the next,  but in Leni's more vertical revelation about
existing "in the moment".   He thinks these papers are somewhere in the attic
and when it cools off later this year will look for them, curious as to how
they might stand up over time. 

While in college, his instinct told him that life would not get any better than
successive days spent reading and thinking, followed by intense partying when
it was time to start writing. Time has confirmed this to be true although the
partying has become less intense.

He reads the list first thing every morning and appreciates the intellectual
stimulation it provides.  He  wishes to thank those who provide it (both the
list and the stimulation).

Jeff Carpenter