various goodbyes--another word from our sponsor

[Steven Maas (CUTR)]

Chris K. wrote:
> We get into these states every so often, but I am at a loss to explain
> why.  Some folks believe it may have to do with intellectual temperament,
> but I'm uncertain about this.  I subscribe to three other listservs with
> some pretty hefty brain pools and have not witnessed the kind of
> exhibitionist acrimony (or acrimonious exhibitionism) we so often find
> here.  (I'm not pointing any fingers, btw, as I've have had one in this
> particular pie as well.)  Another consideration may be nature of the
> subject.  What is it about TRP that attracts such varied, cranky, and
> impassioned participants here?

Reading this got me thinking about that one word--"varied."  It does seem
that P. attracts a more varied audience than most other "literature."  I
don't know what other listservs Chris subscribes to but from other posts
of hers I'd guess they include discussion of Joyce and Lawrence.  In my
experience the vast majority of the audience for these two, and for most
other "serious" fiction, comes from the halls of academe.  To some extent
this is, of course, true of Pynchon too, but it seems his ideas and his
writing attract intelligent but non-academic readers to a greater extent
than the others.

So maybe what we have here is early skirmishes at the front lines of a
coming Armageddon--the Academy vs. the Regular Folks, duking it out, to
either come to an Understanding of sorts or to engage in Total War, Take
no Prisoners--it's up to us.

Puts me in mind of one of my favorite cartoons by the late lamented B.
Kliban: three puny professorial types huddling to discuss theory while a
big muscular but small-headed working stiff sits at the table ready to
arm-wrestle with his buddies looking on.

	Steve Maas