Correction: Belated answer to Mark Twain Q

[Mark Kohut]

intended for one plister who asked. Sorry to bore all....

--- On Thu, 7/30/09, Mark Kohut <markekohut at yahoo.com> wrote:

> From: Mark Kohut <markekohut at yahoo.com>
> Subject: belated answer to Mark Twain Q
> To: "pynchon -l" <pynchon-l at waste.org>
> Date: Thursday, July 30, 2009, 9:40 PM
> Page,
> 
> Very little close Twain influence traced in most of the
> best books on TRP's work that I've read. Just the general
> great comic talents.....hey, he does the Jumping Frog on
> stereoids; on surreal over-the-topness.....
> 
> Curious to me: Tony Tanner at the end of his seminal
> monograph [his ideas were seminal before this summary
> monograph] of 1981, mentions a long list of writers who
> Pynchon has absorbed in his opinion.  Twain and James
> are
> mentioned.  
> However, early in the monograph, when he has mentioned
> writers who have influenced TRP and quoted Barthes on
> "mixing words", meaning other writers' words, neither Twain
> nor James are on that list.
> 
> I don't know Twain well but as with James, I do not myself
> see much direct influence as we can point to with so many
> others.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
>       
>