A Note To P-Listers

[Evan Abla]

Is "solid content" the key?  Well then why do so many get so angry at talk of theory and such?
I think that what the p-list has done to young jn is exactly what we constantly do to each other.  I find it entertaining and rather fun.  If young jn can't take the heat (all be it elderly heat, thanks Paul) then perhaps he should remove himself from the kitchen?  But then, who am I?  Back to the dark realms of the lurk.

evan

Evan M. Abla
eabla at nazarene.org

"He uttered a triumphant cry: It is accomplished!
And it was as though he had said: Everything has begun."
                                                --Nikos Kazantzakis

>>> Timothy Strzechowski <dedalus204 at mediaone.net> 05/30/00 10:45PM >>>
Dear Fellow P-listers ---

I find it decidedly sickening when anyone posts an observation, a
question, or an insight to a list such as ours, only to have it attacked
for superficial reasons such as word choice and style.  Unless I missed
something, we on the Pynchon list (or any e-list, for that matter)
comprise a community wherein we share insights and observations
regarding our one common interest:  in this case, TRP.  To see Julian's
original posting "Resonances with Joseph Furphy"  attacked as "an
attempt to string together as many big words as possible," or the
subsequent sophomoric references to Ian Anderson's band, defeat the
spirit of an internet community that should instead embrace a fellow
Pynchonite --- especially one as youthful as JN.  And here we just
welcomed one Michel Ryckx (our "new subscriber") last week with open
arms, despite what he worried were "too many grammatical errors"  (as I
recall, we assured him that our forum can overlook such trivialities in
light of solid content).

I teach secondary school English . . . I've done so for well over a
decade . . . and far be it for most 16-year-olds to want to read J.D.
Salinger or George Orwell, let alone Thomas Pynchon.  Although I cannot
condone Julian's "fuckwits" posting --- composed, I assume, as a
knee-jerk reaction to having his observations assaulted by people who he
probably hoped could comment on and expand upon his ideas with similar
insight and eloquence --- I nevertheless wish to remind everyone on the
p-list that we are here to celebrate and intelligently discuss our
chosen author.  If you're not going to do just that, return to the
swamplands of internet chatrooms.

Best regards,

Tim S.