No comment except Cowart is good (in earlier book)

[Paul Mackin]

On 7/5/2012 1:55 PM, Heikki Raudaskoski wrote:
>
> I admired Cowart's allusion book back in the times when I was a
> Pynchon scholar. (I still do.) Got the chance to meet him in fall
> '92 when he was a Fulbright Professor at the Univ of Helsinki.
>
> He told me that to mark the beginning of his Fulbright commission,
> he was invited to give an inaugural lecture at the U.S. Embassy in
> Helsinki. The embassy was still under the Bush Sr administration.
>
> The lecture concerned the Domina Nocturna episode in GR. A Finnish
> professor (Nabokov scholar) who was present told me that it was a
> "memorable occasion".

That's what renown professors are good at--writing focused monographs or 
papers.  But then it comes time to produce a book. You use what you have 
studied and written about,  and try to tie it all together with some 
grand theme. A general theory of Pynchon would be the jackpot.

It would be nice to know even some significant part of what has been 
written by Pynchon scholars.  Some of it imparts important discoveries 
that are interesting in themselves. Sources are an example.  Then, there 
is interpretation. You find out where other p-readers are coming from.  
This could be some help in reading the book, but often, in least in my 
case, not.

What might Cowart  impart to the general reader?   I guess that's Mark's 
question. Maybe it's this:  don't substitute reading Pynchon for reading 
history.   Cowart (according to the reviewer) emphasizes that TP is 
producing art.

P


>
>
> Heikki
>
> On Thu, 5 Jul 2012, Mark Kohut wrote:
>
>> Reviewer is doing a thesis on TRP so has read all the criticism. Most readers of
>> Pynchon have not.
>>   
>> Where are Cowart's oft ne'er-so-well-expressed insights manifested in the
>> general reading culture of Pynchon's work?
>>   
>> That is what I want from the plist....insights for we Non-or-Amatuer Self-Read scholars.
>>   
>> Insights for life.....that new readers can sorta INHABIT.....
>>
>>
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: alice wellintown <alicewellintown at gmail.com>
>> To: Mark Kohut <markekohut at yahoo.com>
>> Cc:
>> Sent: Thursday, July 5, 2012 8:32 AM
>> Subject: Re: No comment except Cowart is good (in earlier book)
>>
>> I will read it. but most of what cowart, if the review is accurate,
>> says,  has been said. i guess that the p-industry, and inherebt vice
>> and agains the day are the start of it from the pynchons, author and
>> agent, has to now move to shore up the claims to p greatness, worthy
>> of a nobel--historical authors all, and keep the cult followers happy
>> as they move to market to the beach novel buyers.
>>
>> On Thu, Jul 5, 2012 at 8:12 AM, Mark Kohut <markekohut at yahoo.com> wrote:
>>> http://www.berfrois.com/2012/07/pynchon-and-the-past-joanna-freer/