pynchon-l-digest V2 #1776

[Doug Millison]

Otto:
"Doug had made the connection and attacked pomo/decon as responsible for
the asserted wretched state of the list."

Of course, any literary critical tool is only that, a tool, and 
thanks for reminding me, Otto.  Some of my best friends and teachers, 
fine people all, manage to pursue this sort of literary analysis and 
discussion without stooping to the destructive personal attacks that 
"jbor" brings. Dave Monroe manages to bring a very high degree of 
literary critical insight to the discussion all the while remaining 
friendly and constructive, after all, using to fine effect the 
theoretical tools that a "jbor" can only wield like bludgeons.  Otto, 
and Kurt, both manage to bring a serious, even playful PoMo element 
to the discussion without descending to the level of personal insult 
that "jbor" lards into his stale analyses.

I think I made clear in a later post, it's the constant, destructive, 
death-of-ten-thousand-cuts mode of discussion from "jbor", and the 
bar-room insults of "David Morris" that have made conversation all 
but impossible on Pynchon-L, in my opinion,  over the past couple of 
years.  The only veteran P-lister who still posts frequently would be 
Paul Mackin, and he always did like the nasty onlist meltdowns and 
did what he could to spark and fan those flames -- at least one other 
veteran P-lister  who posts now and again knows exactly what I'm 
talking about here.

On an historical note, this is an old Pynchon-L polarity -- literary 
salon, or drunken party --  between people who like a civil 
conversation focused on Pynchon, with respect for each other, and 
others who prefer the bar-room mode of insult and shouting and 
in-your-face-confrontation and sideline kibbitzing to keep the 
tempers high as currently practiced by "jbor", "David Morris", 
"MalignD", and Paul Mackin.   We've always had a large lurker 
contingent, too, who just enjoy the back and forth as long as it's 
stimulating and entertaining, whether the content is negative or 
otherwise, delighting in the interplay of disembodied voices; 
certainly, from a literary point of view, this latter mode offers 
some fascination; what it means from the perspective of somebody who 
is trying to make conversation, or, heaven forbid, a human 
connection, may be quite different.

Fire when ready, gentlemen.
-- 
d  o  u  g    m  i  l  l  i  s  o  n  <http://www.online-journalist.com>