Where's Pynchon on the Modern Library List?

[kelber at mindspring.com]

Just did a quick browse of the English course listings for Harvard, Princeton and Yale.  No Pynchon in any of the course listings at Princeton (SP 2007).  Harvard and Yale, current term, had one listing each in 20th century or post-war fiction.  The Harvard course covers COL49, the Yale one doesn't specify.  So it would be easy to go a term or more as an English major without encountering Pynchon.  Not to say that he's not mentioned in lit crit type courses.  Morrison, by comparison, is covered in multiple courses at all 3.

Laura

-----Original Message-----
>From: Joshua Lind <lindj at wou.edu>
>Sent: Dec 8, 2006 2:48 PM
>To: pynchon-l at waste.org
>Subject: Re: RE: Where's Pynchon on the Modern Library List?
>
>> I wonder which "top US University" he attended (Candlebrow? 
>> Lowbrow?) - in 
>> any case, I really hope that "Dan" is just a lazy student who 
>> slept through 
>> most of his classes, and that his ignorance isn't a reflection 
>> of a general 
>> academic tendency in "top US Universities". Any insiders on the 
>> p-list/fellow cultists who can enlighten us on this matter?
>> 
>
>I think it's very easy to escape a university with a degree in English without gaining exposure to a particular author, especially if the major program has "concentrations" (e.g. poetry, "British" literature, early modern literature, creative writing, etc.).  That's to be expected.  What's annoying about this guy's response is his apparent belief that exposure and value are intimately connected.  Because Pynchon wasn't covered in a class doesn't mean he's not important.
>
>I also think that writers who make their primary contributions in the novel form have a harder time getting covered in undergraduate survey courses.  Especially modern writers.  But the Norton Anthology of American Literature contains "Entropy," so there's that chance for exposure to Pynchon there...if the professor chooses to assign it.
>
>Josh