Lincoln and OBA

[Lawrence Bryan]

Don't know if this was mentioned before. If so, here it is again.

In Doris Goodwin's delightful bio of Lincoln, OBA gets mentioned and  
quoted. Haven't bothered to track down the source of the quote - I'm  
sure one of our Pynchon mavens can provide chapter and verse.

Damn. I suppose I should include the quote, that means walking up two  
flights of stairs to get the book then working backwards from where I  
left off last night to find it. <sigh> Oh well. I'll go get it and  
find it... BRB...

<half hour later>

Okay, I'm back.

Page 103 of the paper back edition. "Melancholy is a far richer and  
more complex ailment than simple depression. There is a generous  
amplitude of possibility, chances for productive behavior, even what  
may be defines as a sense of humor."

I can't help but be curious about the thread of events that lead to  
this being included in Goodwin's Lincoln bio. Did she read Pynchon  
before, see the quoted passage and make note of it for some future use  
or was she reading Pynchon while taking a break from writing the bio.  
"Damn, I'm tired of this bio stuff. I need a break. Maybe some light  
reading...".

Let's see. This is a non-fiction book with quoted material from a  
living author. Yes. Footnotes. Page 103 has 14 footnotes. How nice  
that she doesn't mark the flow of the page with little numbers.  
Chomsky should take note. Here it is, the 5th footnote. "...Thomas  
Pynchon, introduction to The Teachings of Don B.: Satires,Parodies,  
Fables, Illustrated Stories, and Plays of Donald Barthelme..."

Does this make me a Pynchon maven too?

Lawrence


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