SLSL Wandering Scholars

[Fergus Ginsberg]

I have Just finished rereading this fascinating book.
I'm not
too sure what it has to do with the current
discussion except for the obvious fact that it is
mentioned in the Introduction to SL. That, and the
fact that
Pynchon seems to be saying that university life (and
America at that time)
was pretty conservative and boring and 
that he and others of his generation developed 
wanderlust and left the universities for The Road. But
the wandering scholars wandered not because they were
bored with university or monastery life. We do find
them grumbling a lot (with wonderful and savage Irish
humor) about living in the monasteries. The
scholar-poet's life is, as every poet since these
Irishmen has griped and lamented, often a  "bootless
meditation of the thankless muse."   Burning the
candle, nose in a book, eyes strained, neck aching…
out of Bacchus and having to drink beer.    

Anyway, it seems important that P discovered Evergreen
while sort of wandering. Consider what  was in the
issues Dave Monroe posted. I guess if there is a
wandering poet in America it's Allen Ginsberg. Read
the Howl and the Waddell book doesn't seem like such
an odd book for P to mention in the SL Introduction
with the others. But what happened to the Irish
scholar-poets and other wandering poets is, in many
respects,  the reverse of what P's generation
experienced. And the poetry reveals this. 


The Waddell book may interest Eco fans too. There is a
wonderful story in it about a manuscript that keeps
escaping the flames and showing up and there is a
story about a great confrontation between a man that
becomes Pope and another who imprisoned for heresy. 

Also, if you've read how the irish daved
civilization(Tom Cahill, sp?) which is not a scholarly
text but more your Barnes & Nobles St. Patrick's Day
half off sale book, you know some of the story

Waddell is funny, witty, loves her subject, the men,
the poetry, latin, so on. She's a bit of a poet
hereself and this can be lovely and it can be a bit
confusing at times. It's a fun book to read,
grape or grain and Irishmen with filed teeth grammar,
a fierce passion for learning, fearless of the Pagan
texts and their ungodly riches. 

PS we lost four parts of the heart and soul of this
today. They unsubscribed. Where are your poets waste? 


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