Genoa (was Re: Who provokes whom?

[Dave Monroe]

... hm, maybe I can make some money on the side
selling WWPD (What Would Pynchon Do?) bumper stickers,
t-shrts, refrigerator magnets, whatever, 'round these
parts.  Now, I'm all for some, er, "friendly"
chit-chat here, "getting to know you" and all that,
Lord (or whoever) knows I post enough of it myself,
but ...

But seems to me that what we're (and I do mean "we,"
again, I hardly exonerate myself here) doing in
"discussing" "Pynchon 'n' Rap," "Pynchon 'n'
Globalization," whatever, is, while ostensibly perhaps
saying a little something about the subject ostensibly
at hand (those Pynchonian texts et al.) via resonances
with contemporary events, we're largely just enlisting
some putative Pynchon on one side or another of an
arugument not necessarily of any immediate relevance
to those texts ...

Sure, those texts might imply (although they rarely if
ever state outright) an opinion on these various
matters, they might even on occasion do so in such as
way as to strongly imply coincidence with their
author's personally held beliefs, but ...

But we generally seem to argue such incidental matters
for no better reason that to argue with someone else. 
We all know how the battle lines are generally drawn
here, who the principal combatants are,  the allies
who more often than not enter the fray (as I'm
attempting NOT to do here, but ...), and the
ineviatability of irresolution accompanied by
unfortunate to unforgivable collateral damage (a
veritable weekly Gulf war in that regard here) ...

One or the other will inevitably post something that
will undoubtedly irk the other, and, undoubtedly, at
times, at least, purposefully so.  But if all this is
going to be ineviatble here--and, theoretically, it
isn't, but, practically speaking, well ...--maybe we
ought to make the attempt at least to discuss
whichever o' them Pynchonian texts we're allegedly
here to discuss at the time.  

Now, I would have loved to have seen someone as
knowledgeable and, I hope, as respected here as The
Mighty Quail (who I believe was originally scheduled)
host the "Epilogue" to V., or to see someone as
equally qualified and even-handed as Terrance (who,
despite his protestations to the contrary, I think has
shown that he could well have covered the slot, if not
perhaps to his satisfaction, at least to ours) take
over for him, but ...

But contrary to popular (or unpopular, as the case may
be) belief 'round here, I simply do not have all the
time in the world to post, much less to host, and we
all know I'm rather less knowledgeable, and certainly
less respected and even-handed, than either of our
erstwhile "Epilogue" hosts.  In the meantime, I'm all
too often finding it easier NOT to open the book
(here, V.) and to join in the nastinesses and
questionable relevancies instead ...

And this I feel badly about, as this is the first time
I can recall rereading V. in full, and this is
ceratinly the first time I've given it much close and
serious consideration.  I've never had to read these
books, say, in a classroom setting, and I don't devote
much quality time to any particular text on my own. 
And I think that we've largely given the novel short
shrift here ...

This is hardly to excoriate anyone for not
participating to whatever, if any, extent.  Few can be
expected to have the time, the energy, or, for that
matter, the desire to keep up with this on a daily,
post by post, even, basis.  But I'm under the
impression that, even since I joined a year or so ago
now, participation here is not nearly so widespreaed,
frequent, and in depth as it has been in the past ...

And I think--hell, I know, people do write to me
offlist about such matters--that the constantly
hostile undertone, not to mention the frequently
hostile overtones, coupled with a pronounced tendency
to drift well off course here has not helped.  And
while, e.g., Doug or jbor or David Morris or kai or I
have perhaps come to expect certain ... challenges
here, I would hope that others have not been
intimidated by fear of similar hassles.  Though I know
they have been, so ...

So, well, rather than following my own best advice
here an posting on V., it's "Epilogue," and so forth,
I'm posting several paragraphs of the bleeding obvious
instead.  Dishearteningly, however, the most likely
responses here are ones that follow no better than I
did my own unheeded advice.  Surprise me ...





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