Pynchon seminar at the Smithsonian [seconde try]

[John M. Krafft]

	The Smithsonian Associates present

PYNCHONALIA

ALL-DAY SEMINAR

Sat., April 3, 2004, 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Thomas Pynchon (1937- ) is often cited as the greatest American novelist
since Faulkner and as the precursor of cyberpunk.  Lyrical and slapstick,
sophisticated and vernacular, profound and profane, erudite and
exhilarating, his handful of novels-V., The Crying of Lot 49, Gravity's
Rainbow, Vineland and Mason & Dixon-epitomize postmodern literature.  Like
J.D. Salinger, Pynchon for 40 years has notoriously avoided public
appearances, giving no interviews, and not even allowing himself to be
photographed.  But, Pynchon's fiction welcomes the full range of critical
responses and invites all degrees of engagement.

             The 2001 release of Journey into the Mind of [P.], a
documentary film about his life and work, his introduction to
the new release of George Orwell's 1984, and the forthcoming
exhibition at the Whitney Museum featuring illustrations of
Gravity's Rainbow, have stirred new interest in his work.

             In an all-day seminar, Brian McHale, one of the foremost
scholars of Pynchon, presents a fascinating look at this great
author, whose works, though set in such various historical
settings as the 18th century, WWII, and the sixties, resonate
so pertinently today.

10 to 11:15 a.m. Overview of Pynchon's Novels

11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Historical, scientific and literary context

12:30 to 2 p.m. Lunch

Participants provide their own lunch.

2 to 3:15 p.m.  Gravity's Rainbow: Analysis and Discussion

3:30 to 4:30 p.m. Pynchon's Literary and Cultural Legacy

             Instructor Brian McHale is professor of English at the Ohio
State University and author of Postmodernist Fiction and
Constructing Postmodernism.



CODE:

Resident Members $78; Senior Members $70; Gen. Admission $123

Further details will e posted sometime next month at 
http://residentassociates.org/rap/start.htm.



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John M. Krafft
Miami University--Hamilton / 1601 Peck Boulevard / Hamilton, OH 45011-3399
Tel: 513-785-3258 or 513-868-2330
Fax: 513-785-3145
krafftjm at muohio.edu
http://www.ham.muohio.edu/~krafftjm