The Author as Science Guy

[prozak at anus.com]

It's all about unwrapping symbols and having the feeling for the text 
to understand where collected details become a history.

Date sent:      	Tue, 18 Feb 2003 18:57:57 +0100
To:             	prozak at anus.com, pynchon-l at waste.org
From:           	"P. Chevalier" <Pierre.Chevalier at infm.ucl.ac.be>
Subject:        	Re: The Author as Science Guy

> Intéressant, cette vision de la fiction post-moderne comme condamnée à se 
> dissoudre totalement dans l'étendue de son ambition... Comme un suicide 
> entropique à l'issue duquel il ne resterait d'autres sujets à traiter que 
> l'absurdité de l'entreprise elle-même... Une sorte de narcissime mortifère, 
> "portrait de l'artiste en pleine déliquescence"... Comme si le soupçon 
> demeurait le seul sujet digne d'être traité au travers de tout autre, au 
> point de devenir soupçon hyperbolique, méta-soupçon, soupçon de soupçon...
> 
> Que restera-t-il au lecteur avide de dépaysement sans pour autant être de 
> cette race de nostalgiques que l'on croise au bord des routes, et qui 
> dodelinent de la tête en se souvenant d'Avant...
> 
> L'exotisme d'un autre langage?
> 
> 
> 
> 
> At 11:14 18/02/2003 -0800, prozak at anus.com wrote:
> 
> > > Power's problem is that he's a pedestrian writer. Just the opposite of
> > > Pynchon, whose every thought (most every) stirs the imagination. Be it
> > > silly or serious. Powers no doubt knows as much as Pynchon. Maybe more.
> > > But knowledge isn't the issue.
> >
> >In my opinion, you are absolutely correct - and further, the
> >blueprint for writing this kind of novel has been established for
> >three decades already. My hope is that if anything, literature keeps
> >growing.
> >
> >The postmodern novel, effective as it was in, like a Hollywood movie,
> >summarizing daily existence into highly polarized distrust of
> >society, did not escape its own polarization and thus is almost a
> >religious experience of baptism in chaos and emergence with
> >simplistic solutions. Thus like an asshowl I have to say that I'm
> >sticking with the founders of the genre, those Faulkner-Burroughs
> >guys, who observed the virus in rough formation and avoided getting
> >swept up into the 'grand statements' and sentimental absolutes of
> >which FWN among others warns us.
> >
> >It's weird how authors sell out just like metal bands. Joyce, for
> >example, sold out on his second published novel. It still has its
> >appeal however, like a copy of black album Metallica kept hidden
> >behind the left speaker in case there's shallots to be sliced.
> >Pynchon... it seems so far is going strong, but the question is of
> >pro-active applicability of his social/political theories. (I
> >wouldn't call him a philosopher by style, although philosophical
> >might apply). So maybe it is time for literary revolution, aka
> >business as usual?
> >
> >And where is left to go (the eternal question)? Will the next genre
> >solely be a whinging about the lack of frontiers, as an overgrown
> >society collapses inward and eats itself?
> >
> >--
> >Backup Rider of the Apocalypse
> >www.anus.com/metal/
> >DEATH AND BLACK METAL
> 
> 

-- 
Backup Rider of the Apocalypse
www.anus.com/metal/
DEATH AND BLACK METAL