GR III (Fast & Focused group read) aborted ...

Terrance lycidas2 at earthlink.net
Thu Aug 5 20:33:21 CDT 2004


I see no reason to stand up at the podium and lecture an empty hall. I'm
not a member of Congress.  I'm trying to promote a progressive and
democratic reading of Pynchon's GR.  One that is collaborative, open to
a pluralistic reading,  yet focused on the text. It seems to me that we
can read the novel quicker than we have in the past because we've been
through it a couple-few times and we have extensive notes and research
archived. 

However, it won't be easy. What I'm asking people to do is not easy. 
What do I mean by a traditional group reading or reading club reading of
GR?  We will focus all our attention on the one text we have in common
right now.  We will read the book. We will discuss the characters, the
themes, conflicts, settings, the literary elements and so on. We won't
put every word through the Google machine or under the microscope.
Nothing wrong with this, or course. It's just not what we are going to
do this time around. We will need to respect our fellow readers. As we
make our personal experience with the text public,  we all need to do so
without fear of being ridiculed or attacked. We can have fun and play
nice. 

I'll host any section of GR if I can do it between now and September
13th.



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