MDMD[6]: Fatherhood & The Absent Author

[Greg Montalbano]

Harrison Sherwood responds:

>No, what I mean by "absent" is that P. insists (to a degree unique in
>letters, nicht wahr?) that his works *must stand alone*, without his
>authorial presence, the interpretive intermediary, deciphering it for us
>after publication. No post-production support from TRP: no interviews, no
>commentary, no book tours, no NPR chit-chat. The books, for all intents,
>have no visible author, no...progenitor.
>

It occurs to me that the heart of this discussion might lie in the
different directions we're coming from in our approach to literature.  I've
seen in past notes from folks with an academic background a certain
expectation of the kinds of footnoting & explicatory material that (I
imagine) accompanies in-depth reading in a classroom or dissertation
situation;  also, folks who are more "plugged-in" to current culture (via
the net, OPRAH, the tabloids, whatever) expect instant access to snapshots
& quick sketches of the artist's life, family, political views, favorite
charities, love affairs, etc.

Maybe I'm the only one, but I've (almost) always come to books in complete
isolation -- never knew anything about Russel Hoban (still don't), but was
absolutely blown away by RIDDLEY WALKER;  didn't know anything about Phil
Dick until after I'd read three or four of his novels (& the knowledge
didn't substantially change the experience of reading more of them, or
re-reading the old ones)...

I'm not claiming any inherent superiority in my approach to books;  as has
been stated before on the list (sometimes by me), there are many levels &
combinations of levels of approach & enjoyment of reading  -- I just want
to explain why I think the absence of TRP allows me to read & enjoy the
things any damn way I want to (just like his absence allows his fans to
imagine him any way they like -- if the "real" Pynchon was photographed &
interviewed telling us exactly what he had in mind in each of his books,
then -- no matter how compelling those explanations might be -- there would
be a certain LOSS of freedom to imagine alternatives;  the same open-ended
freedom that makes reading them so enjoyable.)

~G~

"But what the hell do I know..."