Loren Passerine

[Paul Mackin]

A rather farfetched association might occur to Pynchon or other radio
listeners of the 40s. Famous tabacco auctioneer L.A. "Speed" Riggs was used
in a commerial for Lucky Strike cigarettes. Using his marvelous
(passerine-like?) vocal apparatus he would cry a tabacco auction and it
would always end with "sold to American" meaning that the lot of tabacco had
been bought by the American Tabacco Company maker of Lucky Strike
cigarettes.  Get it? A LUCKY crying. No? Well, I said it was farfetched.

Another thing, the fact that Passerine is the greatest auctioneer in the
WEST would distinguish him from the famous Speed Riggs who operated only in
the EAST (U.S.) where tabacco is grown.

            P.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Dave Monroe" <davidmmonroe at yahoo.com>
To: <pynchon-l at waste.org>
Sent: Thursday, September 06, 2001 5:24 AM
Subject: Loren Passerine


> "'We're in luck.  Loren Passerine, the finest
> auctioneer in the West, will be crying today.'" (Lot
> 49, Ch. 6, p. 183)
>
> What does it mean to be "the finest auctioneer in the
> West," and why is it "lucky" that he's "crying today"?
> Along with all the other curious imagery here ...
>
> From J. Kerry Grant, A Companion to The Crying of Lot
> 49 (Athens: U of Georgia P, 1994) ...
>
> "H183.1, B137.27  'Loren Passerine'  As Watson notes,
> Passerine's name refers to an order of birds, one that
>
> 'includes the passerine ground-dove' (69), beginning
> the many associations with Penetcost developed in this
> closing scene." (p. 139)
>
> Citing ...
>
> Watson, Robert N.  "Who Bids for Tristero?
>    The Conversion of Pynchon's Oedipa Maas."
>    Southern Humanities Review 17 (Winter 1983):
>    59-75.
>
>
http://www.internationaldovesociety.com/Dove%20Pics/EX/Common%20Ground%20Dov
e.jpg
>
> But note the date of coinage here ...
>
> pas·ser·ine
> 'pa-s&-"rIn
> adjective
> Latin passerinus of sparrows, from passer sparrow
> 1776
> : of or relating to the largest order (Passeriformes)
> of birds which includes over half of all living birds
> and consists chiefly of altricial songbirds of
> perching habits -- compare OSCINE
> - passerine noun
>
> http://m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary
>
> "the legacy America" (Lot 49, Ch. 6, p. 182)
>
> Hm.  And do cf., noting here esp. the etymology,
> "oscine" ...
>
> os·cine
> 'ä-"sIn
> adjective
> New Latin Oscines, suborder name, from Latin, plural
> of oscin-, oscen songbird, bird giving omens by its
> cry, from obs-, ob- in front of, in the way + canere
> to sing -- more at OB-, CHANT
> 1883
> : of or relating to a large suborder (Oscines) of
> passerine birds (as larks, shrikes, finches, orioles,
> and crows) characterized by a vocal apparatus highly
> specialized for singing
> - oscine noun
>
> "Beyond all reason," my ass (= Maas).  Okay, can't
> recall, can't locate, just who points this out and
> where, but note also that ...
>
> Passerine = "Pass 'er in"
>
> Is there some sort of pun going on here as well, in
> French, perhaps?  L'or en pas, er, well, my French Fu
> is weak, old man, so someone, please, let me know.
> And for the record ...
>
> Loren = Lawrence = "Crowned with Laurels" ...
>
> "Loren Passerine, on his podium, hovered like a puppet
> master, his eyes bright, his smile practiced and
> relentless." (Lot 49, Ch. 6, p. 183)
>
> http://www.maxxmktg.com/fantastic8.jpg
>
> "He stared at her, smiling, as if saying, I'm
> surprised you actually came." (ibid.)
>
> "as if" = paranoia?  By the way ...
>
> "The men inside the auction room wore black mohair and
> had pale, cruel faces." (Lot 49, Ch. 6, p. 183)
>
> Again, cf. Ezra Pound ...
>
> "In the Station of the Metro" (1913)
>
> The apparition of these faces in the crowd:
> Petals on a wet, black bough
>
> http://www.library.utoronto.ca/utel/rp/poems/pound3.html
>
> And recall ...
>
> "White faces, like diseased blooms, bobbed along in
> the dark" (V., Ch. 9, Sec. i, p. 244)
>
> But back to ...
>
> "She heard a lock snap shut; the sound echoed a
> moment." (Lot 49, Ch. 6, p. 183)
>
> Not only another echo (an echo of Echo ...), but also
> some justification for paranoia here.  No exit ...
>
> "Passerine spread his arms in a gesture that seemed to
> belong to the priesthood of some remote culture;
> perhaps to a descending angel." (Lot 49, Ch. 6, p.
> 183)
>
> http://www.shepherd.wvnet.edu/englweb/artworks/A20.jpg
>
> "Watson points out that the 'descending angel' image
> is more closely linked with the idea of Annunciation
> than with that of Pentecost: 'The implied visitation
> of the Holy Ghost might refer to his descent to
> impregnate Mary rather than to his descent to plant
> new speech in the Disciples.  If we accept the notion
> that Oedipa will, to her own shock, turn out to be the
> Tristero bidder, the the possibilities are not
> mutually exclusive.  Oedipa's gestation of a new,
> Tristero self, the Annunciation of the meaning of that
> pregnancy, and her Pentecostal moment of finding
> unexpected foreign speech on her tongue, all culmiante
> together when Oedipa finds herself bidding for the
> Tristero' (69)." (Grant, p. 141)
>
> http://www.english.uiuc.edu/klein/204/ANNUNCIATION.jpg
>
> And, finally (?) ...
>
> "The auctioneer cleared his throat.  Oedipa settled
> back, to await the crying of Lot 49." (Lot 49, Ch. 6,
> p. 183)
>
>
http://search.ebay.com/search/search.dll?MfcISAPICommand=GetResult&ht=1&Sort
Property=MetaEndSort&query=lot+49
>
> Well, I realize we're not QUITE done with The Crying
> of Lot 49 yet, although Mason & Dixon does loom over
> the horizon, but lest I not get the chance to say so
> afore we cross over that line, thanks, Saouied, for
> organizing this AND kicking it off, thanks, Sam, for
> continuing to bring it to a dignified end, thanks
> ev'ryone else in between for hosting and ev'ryone
> beyond that for putting up with me, and, if all else
> fails, will see you in a couple of weeks for Chs. 2 &
> 3 of Mason & Dixon.  I've been doing a little basic
> research that I'm hoping will be of use to ev'rybody
> throughout the reading and then some, so ...
>
>
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