NPPF - Foreword - Summary / Commentary (3)

[Jasper Fidget]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: David Morris [mailto:fqmorris at yahoo.com]
> Sent: Monday, July 14, 2003 12:19 PM
> To: Jasper Fidget; 'The Whole Sick Crew'
> Subject: RE: NPPF - Foreword - Summary / Commentary (3)
> 
> 
> --- Jasper Fidget <jasper at hatguild.org> wrote:
> >
> > Isn't it fairly safe to assume that the Foreword at least has not been
> proofed?  How else would something like "a loud amusement park" remain?
> 
> K later corrects himself, saying that the noise was from some loud toursts
> or
> campers (I forget).  But he says he's just going to leave his initial
> comment
> as is, because he's not interested in being bothered with fixing it.  It's
> a
> bit strange, suggesting that the whole thing is comming out of K as if it
> were
> a linear stream, which would be impossible seeing that he early on points
> the
> reader to notes near the end.  Its production would have to have been
> recursive.
> 
> DM
> 
> 

Yes, exactly -- it seems contradictory.  See p. 15: "(See my note to line
991)", and p. 17: "As mentioned, I think, in my last note to the poem", both
referring to the commentary as if it already exists, but then Note to
609-614 (p. 234-235): "diabolical radio music from what I thought was some
kind of amusement park across the road -- it turned out to be camping
tourists."

It's like the entire thing has been put together out of order (Note to 991
and Note to 1000 at least preceding the Foreword, but Note to 609-614
occurring afterwards).

A possible explanation is that it was actually written in discrete groups,
and not according to the structure of the poem at all.  The notes to 991 and
1000 take place in New Wye, as do all of the cross-references cascading from
C.991.  The set of notes taking place in Zembla, and those discussing only
the poem itself must have been next, and those notes concerning K's exile in
Utana must have been written last.

ajaKasper