NP

[joeallonby]

on 9/26/03 10:05 AM, Otto at ottosell at yahoo.de wrote:

> a literary website, sort of
> http://www.identitytheory.com/
> 
> David Hadju interview:
> http://www.identitytheory.com/people/birnbaum18.html

> 
> RB: Well, yeah sure...In looking over who you have talked to, there are two
> questions that pop up. One, did you in fact, talk to Thomas Pynchon directly
> or by fax?
> 
> DH: It was by fax. It¹s funny this is another thing that nobody asks me about.
> I interviewed Thomas Pynchon, I¹d like a little bit of credit for that...
> 
> RB: Right, right.
> 
> DH: He¹s never talked to anyone. I mean he¹s so reclusive he makes Salinger
> look like Madonna for goodness sakes. We did an epistolary interview. At first
> by fax and then there was an exchange of letters, three letters. I was
> shocked. I never requested an interview with him because I knew he would say
> no. So, instead I did all of my homework, spent a few months and fashioned all
> the questions, everything I¹d ever want to ask him and just sent them. In the
> hope that he¹d be so intrigued by the questions that I might catch him at the
> right moment. 
> 
> He then proceeded to read my first book and he requested through his agent a
> copy of my proposal for this book. And he read it. (snorts) Then he responded.
> I knew from my editor (who did not send the proposal without my permission)
> that Pynchon was poring this over in his mind. So I keep my fingers crossed
> and I actually said a couple of prayers. I made some promises to God, "Just
> give me Pynchon, God." I¹m not going to tell you what I promised God, but I
> have not delivered yet. (laughs)