Report from the New School

[ckaratnytsky at nypl.org]

     Well, yes, now there's the matter of that panel discussion--
     
     which, with all due respect to distinguished participants Rick Moody, 
     Francine Prose, Edward Mendelson, Steven Wright (the novelist whose 
     name I don't know how to spell, not the comic) and moderator Robert 
     Polito, was earnest, respectful, well-intentioned, and somewhat 
     bloodless.  Indeed, as more than one of the participants noted, the 
     discussion teetered dangerously on territory aptly lacerated by TRP in 
     GR--the high and dry Precipice of Prettyplace.
     
     Wright, I think it was, making the excellent point that, as far as 
     antiwar statements went, the silliness that is Duck Soup is not only a 
     far more appealing artistic experience but a grander and more radical 
     protest than the stolidly middle-brow Platoon, suggested that 
     wondrously silly Pynchon was Duck Soup.  Regrettably, the analogy 
     could be extended even further:  I sat there, entrenched in the 
     foxhole, longing to be transported back to the inspired nonsense, no 
     less a reverent homage, of the Pynchon Imitator Contest.
     
     Backtracking a bit, I'll add that, despite the often lofty arc of the 
     discussion, a sense of enthusiasm for the reading of Pynchon in general, 
     and of Mason and Dixon in particular, *was* successfully conveyed to 
     the audience.  (Judging from the questions, btw, the audients were 
     largely unfamiliar with Pynchon.)  Rick Moody was a particularly 
     engaging and devoted acolyte, even as he dissed the list.  I don't 
     think, Paul, that Moody was inclined to learn much from the list 
     (except maybe our bad manners), given his disaffection for those of us 
     who spend time probing the arcana (welcome Finley!) wearing "Internet 
     Decoder Rings."  Ouch.  I had been contemplating stepping up to the 
     plate in defense, but decided in favor of petulant silence.  (davemarc 
     spoke to him after I left, maybe he has something more to add.)
     
     Wright was a stand-out, and, boy, I'd love to get the awesome 
     Mendelson to address the NYPL sometime, but, generally speaking, I was 
     hoping for a more lively, more in-depth chat--the kind we have so 
     often here on-line.  The participation of list-members, frankly, might 
     have injected the necessary oomph.
     
     Chris, who, by the way, has done all the explaining she is going to do 
     about her actions re Les Affaires Pynchon, and is done with feeling 
     complicit or contrite, so stop it, Mascaro, you baby