Barthelme intro

[pynchonoid]

--- jbor <jbor at bigpond.com> wrote:

>
http://www.themodernword.com/pynchon/pynchon_essays_barthelme.html
> 
> "[...] The rage behind it, provoked by the
> ongoing spectacle of national politics in the U.S.
> as
> presided over by anybody, is natural enough if you
> look at the regimes Barthelme happened to be working
> under. [...]"
> 
> That'd have to include JFK and LBJ too, wouldn't it?


Which regimes did Pynchon mention by name in the
essay?

" Nixon by then had already mutated into a desperate
and impersonal force"

"Among many sad consequences of his passing is that we
won't know what he might have done with Bush as a
subject, although "Kissing the President," in its
consideration of Reagan, may give off premonitory
hints."

Barthelme raging against Kennedy?

http://www.eskimo.com/~jessamyn/barth/kennedyarticle.html
"Robert Kennedy Saved from Drowning", by Donald
Barthelme

[...]  In the final scene, the narrator finds Kennedy
in the water, drowning. The narrator throws a rope to
him and pulls him to safety.

[...] Secretaries, an aide, an administrative
assistant, a friend, and a former teacher tell brief
anecdotes about Kennedy, anecdotes that highlight
something special about him. Often, they stress
Kennedy's emotional effect on the people around him.
The teacher recalls Kennedy's compassion as his
defining and unusual characteristic. One secretary
lauds Kennedy's ability to remember his employees and
their personal problems, exemplified by his bringing
her tulips when she was in the hospital. The
administrative assistant tells how Kennedy resolved
both a mounting crisis and the general nervousness of
his staff with a single phone call. Kennedy's friend
explains how difficult it is to know Kennedy, because
he does such unexpected things. Ironically, the friend
reports, Kennedy has an unshakable faith that things
will do what they are expected to do. [...] 



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