V.V. (14) McLintic's "bad week" at the V-Note

[Terrance]

jbor wrote:


> I'm not sure that Pynchon was raised as a Catholic 

Why not? 

(Oyster Bay High?) And
> Glen Cove is pretty posh, isn't it? 

Some parts are. 


The family certainly wasn't poor, as you
> seem to imply. 

No, I didn't imply or mean to imply. 


But the parallels with the 'Introduction' to _SL_ where
> Pynchon talks about being an "unpolitical '50's student" (p. 6, and cf.
> Oedipa's college daze here as well) and his own "glancing acquaintance with
> the Beat movement" and jazz clubs (p.8), are unmistakeable.

Not sure about Mrs Mass, but the Jazz, yup. The Beats seem
to be admired yes, of course, but also are parodic material.
I'll post more from On The Road and Benny when we discuss
the night watch. 



> 
> Interestingly, it's in the 'Intro' also that Pynchon mentions the rise of
> the "Chicago School" of literary critics as something of a watershed event
> for him and his peers, and where he sets up the oppositions of "traditional
> vs. Beat fiction" (p.6) and later, "this new writing" (i.e. his as well) and
> "the more established modernist tradition we were being exposed to then in
> college."(p.8)
> 
> best

Watershed, yup!