Contemporary Fiction

[Paul Mackin]

On Sep 14, 2006, at 11:25 AM, Ya Sam wrote:

>> That's right. And if I thought a 'new Pynchon' was going to  
>> emerge, and
>> I wanted to give myself the best chance of discovering him in an
>> unmediated way, fresh, or 'from scratch', then I would avoid this and
>> similar lists, online literary blogs and websites, books sections of
>> newspapers, and anywhere else where a new novel might get mentioned
>> before and/or after its release.
>
> Maybe I'm digging my own grave here, but how the hell would you  
> know about his existence?
> O boy, am I not entagling myself into my own argument? I get your  
> irony. So I will try to express my ideas as clear as possible. My  
> point isn't about me walking into a bookstore, buying some unknown  
> volume, reading it, and, Eurika! it's a new Pynchon! These days,  
> especially with the Internet around, you will never be completely  
> isolated from the outer world. What I mean is that there is a  
> certain moment when there appears a certain writer, say, Thomas  
> Pynchon (pre-Internet) or, OK, a new Pynchon (no way to escape the  
> Internet), but he is not THE THOMAS PYNCHON yet, there are no  
> awards, monographs, societies and e-mail lists yet. There is only  
> your judgment and, most probably, the judgment of a friend or a  
> reviewer (which may be very unfavourable by the way, there was a  
> guy who said that Ulysses was 'a camera focused through a  
> microscope on a worm-infested dunghill'). I do not exlude the  
> possibility of a chance encounter without any mediator as well. So  
> when I said 'without any advice from out there' by 'out there' I  
> meant the already established framework of opinions that 'serves' a  
> new name to you, whereas you could have discovered it more or less  
> autonomously. I hope I make myself clear. My message isn't 'don't  
> read newspapers and hack up your Internet cable', but rather don't  
> wait for the establishment to recognise a new great writer in order  
> to read him. Take chances, in other words. Oof. That would be it.


Seems to me the essence of all of this is how blessed it is to be  
present at the creation as it were. I almost was with Pynchon. Read  
V. about a year after publication. Didn't know it had won a prize.  
Naively said to myself,  hey, this fellow is breaking some rules.  
Didn't he take fiction writing 101?


About attempting to shut one's self  off from the lit chat  
accompanying publication of hot new books, would that really be  
desirable (even if it were possible)?
Such is part of experiencing the New. Most of what's said will turn  
out to have been less than brilliant. Interesting still. Part of the  
gestalt.

>
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