MDMD[6]: Fatherhood & The Absent Author

[Greg Montalbano]

Paul Mackin's question:

> But,  can we 
>say that Pynch is absent in other significant ways? Does he, for
>example,  absent himself from his own writing? .... Has anyone ever
>detected  an absence of authorial presense in the Pynchonian text?

Maybe I'm missing the point here;  or maybe some folks on the list have
been WAY overcomplicating this issue.  My take:

Ever since I began reading Pynchon (by candlelight;  electricty was
relatively new back then), his main attraction was his OVERWHELMING
authorial presence;  it's very strength is what causes people to love his
books or find them totally unreadable.
I think the privacy (or "hermit") issue has been completely overblown --
it's not like he's the Unabomber or the Zodiac killer, constantly on the
run, switching disguises & daring the cops & the public to try and track
him down.  Refusing to immerse oneself in the American publicity mill is
not the same as hiding out;  kind of reminds me of the sixties, when
outraged olders used to ask me why I was "growing my hair" so long (as if
"growing" the hair was some kind of major, purposeful effort;  they never
got it when I replied that I WASN'T growing my hair -- I was simply NOT
CUTTING IT.)

~G~

{By the way -- the list could REALLY use some laughs this week -- anybody
know whatever became of Chris ("What'cha Eatin'?") Gonzales?}