Rats and Beavers

[rich]

I hope there will be, Henry

maybe we can all hitch a ride to Telluride ;)
Rich


On 6/29/07, Henry <scuffling at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>
> Will the P-Liste ever have another actual, non-academic and
> non-music-focused gathering, like we've had over beers at a couple of DC
> and
> NYC bars, not to mention the historic DC/NY/NJ meet in Delaware to find an
> MD stone marker?
>
> Henry M
> http://www.urdomain.us/scuffling.htm
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-pynchon-l at waste.org [mailto:owner-pynchon-l at waste.org] On
> Behalf
> Of Lawrence Bryan
> Sent: Friday, June 29, 2007 5:31 PM
> To: Pynchon-L List
> Subject: Re: Rats and Beavers
>
>
> On Jun 29, 2007, at 9:17 AM, Keith wrote:
>
> -> My 10th anniversary is this September.
>
> On Jun 29, 2007, at 8:33 AM, Henry wrote:
>
> -> I just realized that, on and off, I'm a ten year P-List vet.  Huh!
>
> I'm not sure when I started but out of curiosity did a search on my
> old nom de BBS, grip at netcom.com, and found this:
>
> ******************************
> waste / pynchon-l by date
>
> previous - next - by thread - by date - by author
> From: <grip@[omitted]>
> Date: Tue, 1 Aug 1995 07:59:11 -0700 (PDT)
> Subject: Re: that's MISTER William Gaddis to you, pal
> To: Andrew Dinn <andrew@[omitted]>
>
>
>
> On Tue, 1 Aug 1995, Andrew Dinn wrote:
>
> > Brian Stonehill Media Studies Pomona College writes:
> >
> > > Please forgive the contumely of the subject line.
> >
> > > But when grip asks, with that certain tone,
> >
> > > >Should I bother to order Recognitions?
> >
> >
> > > one has to say Yes, yes of course you must.  That's landmark
> > > material, and if Bill's punctuation scheme looks unfamiliar to you,
> > > look back at _Ulysses_ (or _A Portrait_) for the authority of it.
> >
> > That's Yes as in YES. Stumbling over punctuation (or lack thereof) is
> > to Gaddis what tripping over plot (or lack thereof) is to Pynchon
> i.e.
> > you have to snap out of it. And just as Pynchon tells a whopper of a
> > story (history) without the safety net of a plot, so Gaddis is a
> > master of dialogue sans the normal accoutrements of quotation and
> > attribution.
> >
> > Brian is quite right to refer to Ulysses. Gaddis' only speech mark is
> > JJ's leading dash. Where Gaddis differs is that there is almost no
> > interlarded descriptive to connect the dialogue - voices just drift
> > from one scene to the next (this most extremely and brilliantly in
> JR,
> > less so in The Recognitions). The voices are realistic *and*
> > distinctive so it is not as hard work as it seems at first read (and
> > of course that implies, like JJ and TRP, that you have to reread).
> >
> > If you really want to appreciate Gaddis technique at his best then
> > read the opening section of JR (about 3-4 pages) and reread until you
> > can identify the voices, characters behind them and their family
> > history in miniature (it's all there - Gaddis, like Pynchon and
> > despite appearances to the contrary, puts all the info you need right
> > on the page). Then go back and be boggled by the skill with which so
> > little text and no overt *interference* from a narrator has rendered
> > so much understandable.
>
> Yes, I suppose there is very skilful technique there. And I have noticed
> it. I wish he had not inserted narrative passages amongst the dialogue
> with no warning. That I find simply distractive. I can deal with the
> - to
> indicate the start of dialogue and the lack of he-said-she-saids.
>
> But I am reminded of many contemporary music compositions and
> performers. Listen to the music of Carter. His compositons are all
> chrystals of perfection. Listen to Maurice Andre. His technique is
> flawless
> and marvelous to behold. But underneath it all I don't sense much that
> touches my heart. With only a few exceptions, Carter's compositions are
> pure quartz. I'd rather have a flawed diamond. I cannot stand to listen
> to Andre play, he seems to have no aesthetic at all.
>
> Last night I picked up GR as I am want to do periodically. I open it and
> start reading. It makes no difference where. Very soon a warm glow
> encompasses me and a satisfied smile creeps over my face. I want to read
> him to someone. Plot? No. Poetry? YES!
>
> It is art, not just technique.
>
> My opinion, for what it's worth.
>
> I haven't decided about Gaddis yet, (I just inadvertently typed
> "Gaggus"!
> Are my fingers way ahead of my brain? :-)  ) so I may reach that point
> after AFOHO and JR. But as of this moment, I have my doubts.
>
> grip
>
>
> ************************
>
> Alas, I must confess I never did finish the Gaddis book.
>
> Lawrence
>
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