Pynchon as "recluse"

[pynchonoid]

M: [...] Most writers at Pynchon's level, accept
and welcome the sorts of public and quasi-public
opportunities afforded them to comment or elaborate on
aspects of their work or on other topics [...] 

Actually, most of the writers I would put anywhere
near Pynchon's level are almost as private as he is --
DeLillo, Philip Roth, Coetzee come to mind -- the
occasional interview or public appearance, otherwise
they're not in the public eye. Is Garcia-Marquez a TV
personality, or has he interacted with his public
large through newspaper and book-length journalism
when he's not been talking to them in novels and short
stories? How many TV interviews has Philip Roth done
in recent months to talk about 9-11 and Iraq?

Certainly we see lots of authors on the Tube --
especially the younger ones -- but which other writers
of fine literary fiction on par with Pynchon's these
days have flung themselves fully into the celebrity
business? I expect that if any writers of Pynchon's
stature really do show up on such a list, it will be a
short one.  

I've been watching a lot of TV related to 9-11 and the
War on Iraq in recent weeks, and I don't recall seeing
many fiction writers -- not even the most famous --
popping up as a talking head to discuss war and peace.


	
		
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