alice wellintown part 2

[John Bailey]

alice has gone by many names but is usually pretty recognisable (as
Terrence) on the p-list. I have nothing against her assuming of
different guises (and genders and occupations etc). It's the internet,
after all. And I've always quite enjoyed her posting, though not
always her posts. Some are very thought-provoking or point to other
great reading, some are just gobbledegook to me. Takes all kinds.

On Thu, Oct 1, 2009 at 3:14 PM, Joseph Tracy <brook7 at sover.net> wrote:
> I have been diverted from the reading for a couple hours by trying to
> understand in some reasonable way  alice wellintown's role in  and
> additions/subtractions to the p-list.  Perhaps a futile enterprise. I
> suggested aw was functioning as a troll , arguing with all, sniping at
> everyone, demanding attention by declaring everyone  to be off as regards
> TP. Also says she is married to a stockbroker and is lit prof or philosophy
> prof who teaches P. She said she argued years ago about a topic on the list,
> but her current name only goes back a a few months or less. Read some
> archives and she sounds a lot like a person  called Terrance Flaherty. Lots
> of reference to philosophy, lots of reference to Pynchon lit criticism.,
> knowledgeable about religious history , defensive of Catholicism( haven't
> noticed that in aw), rarely risks a positive assertion, celebrates academic
> combat. aw seems more poetic than Terrance, but the persona of both these
> people is a little unstable. Hey, who isn't?
>
> I suggested that she doesn't have a teaching position, but who knows. I wish
> aw would be more respectful , more friendly and more willing to put forth
>  positive assertions, tentative proposals, smart aleck comments, something
> other than combative and often bombastic critiques. I would like to see her
> accept that other readers have intelligent approaches to the writing of TP.
>  But perhaps the call for nonresponsiveness was too harsh, too undemocratic
> for the spirit of the list. And , of course , everyone will act according to
> their own inclination anyway. My early take on aw was an underestimate of
> her language skills and intelligence, I still find her comments to be
> erratic and inconsistent, but shot through with streaks of poetic and
> logical brilliance.
>
> Haven't gone too far in the the world of letters, have a minor in English
> and taught high school English for 4 years before going back to glass art
> and conservation.  So my take on Pynchon , while informed by some measure of
> reading critics and interpreters is basically my own, and all that has
> shaped my view of the world and the arts by which we survive.
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