2012 Philip K. Dick Festival

[Kai Frederik Lorentzen]

While we're at it:

Why has Roth several LoA volumes while still alive and Pynchon hasn't?

https://www.loa.org/catalog.jsp?sort=10

I mean, at least the works till GR - but likely also M&D - are part of 
the canon by now, so ...

What economic aspects play a role here? Does Roth sell and Pynchon not?

But they say they're "(a)n independent non-profit organization" with the 
goal to bring into print "authoritative editions of America's best and 
most significant writing." A volume combining CoL49 and GR would be a 
good start re things Pynchonian, imo.


On 27.05.2012 20:16, Mark Kohut wrote:

> Sometimes even famous series editors, such as Mr. Lethem, cannot title 
> books. Authors do not
> usually (unless they get successful enough to have their agent get tht 
> into contracts). I tell people
> it is something Houses reserve for themselves, so they do it their 
> way, most often 'judging' a suggested
> title for what THEY see as marketing or selling reasons.
> In this case, if they were aware at a meeting that one work was early 
> in his career, I can imagine someone
> saying, "Well, for those who know that, the title will not matter to 
> them; and for all who don't this keeps
> the series sounding coherent.".....
> It was very interesting to learn a short while back that the Philip K. 
> Dick volumes were the 'best-selling'
> L of A volumes. Since so many of Dick's works were never published in 
> hardcover or reprinted by mainstream presses
> and were O.P.,  more could only get Dick this way---compared to, say, 
> Roth, Bellow, even Cheever, etc....
> especially libraries....learned major library systems needed to buy 
> Dick over other L of A such as my examples above
> (and other examples) since they, the libraries, stil lhad circulating 
> copies of the major works of many L of A writers.
>
> *From:* Kai Frederik Lorentzen <lorentzen at hotmail.de>
> *To:* pynchon -l <pynchon-l at waste.org>
> *Cc:* Dave Monroe <against.the.dave at gmail.com>
> *Sent:* Sunday, May 27, 2012 7:03 AM
> *Subject:* Re: 2012 Philip K. Dick Festival
>
>
> "The conference’s guest of honor will be none other than Jonathan 
> Lethem, the editor for Philip K Dick’s three volumes from the 
> prestigious Library of America ..."
>
> Yes, my edition of the /VALIS/ trilogy (plus /A Maze Of Death/) comes 
> from that Library of America. While the pages are very beautiful - 
> thin but tight paper, seducing chemical scent -, I never quite 
> understood why Lethem chose the overall title "VALIS and Later 
> Novels". You know, /A Maze of Death/ was written in the late 1960s and 
> published in 1970, long before /VALIS/ and the others. Lethem is 
> absolutely right that 'Maze' corresponds with the others in many ways, 
> and so I think it makes sense to publish them all in one single 
> volume. However, while I understand that "/VALIS/ and Two Later Novels 
> plus an Earlier One" would sound way too clumsy and "/VALIS/ (Buy 3! 
> Get 4!!)" a little too trashy for this "prestigious" edition, I do not 
> quite see what speaks against "VALIS and Related Novels" ... Anyway, 
> the notes and the chronology are useful and sometimes also 
> entertaining: "Anthony Boucher, Dick's longtime mentor, dies. Writes 
> unpublished biographical statement: ' ... Married, has two daughters 
> and young, pretty, nervous wife ... Spends most of his time listening 
> to first Scarlatti and then the Jefferson Airplane, then 
> /Götterdämmerung/, in an attempt to fit them all together. Has many 
> phobias ... Owes creditors a fortune, which he does not have. Warning: 
> don't lend him any money. In addition he will steal your pills.'" (p. 831)
>
>
> On 27.05.2012 03:48, Dave Monroe wrote:
>
>> http://www.philipkdickfestival.com/
>>
>>
>
>
>

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