P writing on drugs? Beyond question

[Pirate Prentice]

> > > I contend that some portions of GR were most
> > likely written under the
> > > influence of drugs. =20
>=20
> OK.  I say there's no way to know if this is true or
> not, given the credibility problems of the single,
> uncorroborated source

> I  don't believe "he was so fucked up when he wrote
> GR
> that he couldn't remember what he was doin

>I don't doubt there's a grain of truth somewhere


While it's true that we have no way of knowing is Siegel made that up,
i for one am 200% convinced that over the many years Pynchon must have
taken to write GR, he took lots of drugs, almost certainly
psychedelics and probably coke, pot, and some other stuff, too. Why?

1) Drugs are mentioned all over all of Pynchon's novels, especially GR
(cocaine is mentioned 20 times, marijuana and hashish around 50 times,
shrooms & lsd about 10...). Only a person into drugs would work them
in so improbably into a novel time and time again (especially the
psychedelics-- this is set in WWII, for christ's sake).

2) Even when not mentioned, drugs are "written all over" (so to speak)
Pynchon's works, especially GR, parts of which set off absolute bells
that they were influences by psychedelics. I challenge anyone who has
actually dropped acid to disagree with this statement.

3) We have that Siegel statement. While not verifiable, he did publish
it in a legitimate magazine, presumably with fact-checkers or at least
an editor who trusted Siegel's word generally.

The statement and the texts, in combination, place it beyond question,
in my mind, that GR was influenced by drug use. Did he write an
800-page novel on acid? Of course not, but that doesn't mean he didn't
take them throughout the writing process.

Pirate