American Culture

[will.miller.ace at artsfb.org.uk]

I knew it! He didn't know about Finnegans Wake... And Ulysses is but a 
pimple on the monster's backside (well, perhaps a very large pimple)...
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From: crw4 at NIP1.EM.CDC.GOV
To: the Robot Vegetable <veg at telep; ARTSFBS/ACE/WMILLER
Cc: pynchon-l <pynchon-l at waste.org
Subject: Re: American Culture
Date: 28 May 1996 13:51



Veg --

In his essay, Mendelson sets very strict criteria for an "encyclopedic
narrative" (a term I believe he coined), and only a few works throughout
history meet them.  I doubt I can remember them all without checking (I'm at 

work and the essay is at home), but they include _Don Quixote_, _Moby Dick_, 

_The Divine Comedy_ (I think), _Ulysses_, and the works of Rabelais.  For
England, he says the role of encyclopedic narrative is shared by the works
of Shakespeare & Chaucer.  He also identifies some works as
"near-encyclopedias."   These include _Tristram Shandy_ and _One Hundred
Years of Solitude_.  I can't remember if he includes _The Recognitions_ on
that list or not.  Anyway, I'll be happy to photocopy the article and mail
it to you, if you'll let me know your address.

Trying to remember _The Recognitions_, and Mendelson's criteria, I'm sure
the book meets at least some of them.  If its cultural identity is American
(U.S., that is) then it wouldn't qualify simply because _Moby Dick_ already
holds that position, even if it met all the other criteria.  And I'd guess
it was published too early to qualify as international -- the publication of 

an encyclopedic narrative must correspond with a culture's awareness of
itself (or something -- I can't remember Mendelson's phrases exactly).

     Skip
 
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 --
On Sat, 25 May 1996, Wolfe, Skip wrote:

> Yes -- and in his excellent essay "Gravity's Encyclopedia" ( in _Mindful
> Pleasures_), Edward Mendelson identifies _GR_ as the international
> encyclopedic narrative (only one allowed per nation or culture, and _Moby
> Dick_ is already the USA's).

   Gaddis's _The Recognitions_ is characterized as an encyclopedic
novel.  Do you agree?  And, if so, what culture does it belong to?

   veg