on the Sportello thread

[alice wellintown]

Indeed, this is quite interesting. The use of machines as metaphor for
writing, and the use of machine-tools, and tools, before the machine,
is so common,  a list of such works might prove so long we could not
fit in on one of the many Pynchon-Wiki sites.  What is interesting,
again, because of P's conservative and nearly reactionary view of
technology, is the long thread, the clews, that are spun from teh loom
of American Romantic Literature's now Estate  of which Pynchon, to
employ the much maligned critics terms, is the inheritor. Speaking of
machine conceits and American tales, there is a character named,
Nippers in Melville's "Bartleby the Scrivener" who is an advocate for
men in Larry's profession.

On Thu, Nov 19, 2009 at 10:58 AM, Mark Kohut <markekohut at yahoo.com> wrote:
> I cannot find Morris's (I think) terrif thread on many of the
> meanings of sportello as a still-used tool (for architectural drawing,
> at least, I guess?)...
>
> But anyway, maybe this is so obvious to all when they read it that it
> did not need put down, but the fact that a sportello is a tool that projects a three-dimensional surface onto a two-dimensional one---if I
> remember that rightly--is a wonderful metaphor for the writing artist,
> no?......
>
> I mean Who else, who else, who else but Pynchon?---or maybe the late V. Nabokov would even find such a great metaphor?
>
> Again, I think an essay along the lines of "Inherent Vice": Portrait of
> the Artist While Projecting His World or While Finding His Vision could be
> written. Plenty p-listers, led by Robin it must be said, have proven that, it seems to me. Pynchon does like the detective metaphor. Lots, most literally with Lew Basnight, an evident Lew Archer homage who does find out some of the deepest truths in Against The Day.
>
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