NP, but a bit of prose poetry...

[Ian Livingston]

McCarthy writes about Man in the world. I think Suttree is a perfect case
in point. Man is dispossessed and sterile, his sex is fruitless (even with
watermelons) and his copulations are with a form of Woman who no longer is
in the living world. I think the sterility of Man in his competitive
commitment to violently wresting gratification from an unknown, barely
guessed-at Other, that Man must hate in his ignorance, is representative of
all the sex McCarthy needs. Man fucks the world. Blood Meridian is, yeah,
genius; and, yes, it all comes back to the Whale as it is in the postmodern
world. There is a wonderful study, developed from a diss, I think,
evaluating BM in part as a Tarot reading. Ah, yes, Notes on Blood Meridian,
by John Sepich. Highly recommended.

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3143478-notes-on-blood-meridian

On Thu, Dec 17, 2015 at 6:40 AM, Mark Sacha <msacha1121 at gmail.com> wrote:

> If you're interested in the topic, have the time, and have access to a
> copy (the latter two are big ifs), Vollmann's unabridged Rising Up and
> Rising Down is, I think, the de facto modern text on it. It's split up into
> two major sections - the first is analytical/theoretical and the latter is
> essentially an unedited compendium of his journalism, which are included as
> case studies. Only (haha) the first five volumes are really essential to
> the book. Since it's Vollmann we're talking about here, it's really
> thorough, although political in ways people won't always agree with and a
> little inconsistent in tone and quality. But I was blown away by it.
>
> I got mine from a library since copies run upward of $1000.
> https://www.worldcat.org/title/rising-up-and-rising-down/oclc/53820538&referer=brief_results
>
> On Thu, Dec 17, 2015 at 9:12 AM, Perry Noid <coolwithdoc at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Been curious about Vollman for a bit
>>
>>
>> On Thursday, December 17, 2015, Mark Kohut <mark.kohut at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>> Now you have Vollman to read. A MAJOR subject, as we know.
>>>
>>> On Thu, Dec 17, 2015 at 8:12 AM, Perry Noid <coolwithdoc at gmail.com>
>>> wrote:
>>> > I am nearing the end of another book on violence, not nearly as epic or
>>> > beautiful as BM but another perspective, psychological and discrete. I
>>> have
>>> > read Ballardian landscapes described as "quantal" and I think it is
>>> perfect
>>> > description.
>>> >
>>> > I think I am organically crafting some imaginary course on violence in
>>> my
>>> > head. Started with the Spanish film Tesis by Ameñabar, Baader-Meinhoff
>>> by
>>> > Delillo (it's a short story in the New Yorker, not necessarily violent
>>> but
>>> > terrorism and trauma) then Blood Meridian and now High Rise by Ballard.
>>> >
>>> >
>>> > On Thursday, December 17, 2015, Perry Noid <coolwithdoc at gmail.com>
>>> wrote:
>>> >>
>>> >> OMG that is so obvious! And the whole time reading it I am
>>> constructing
>>> >> wild theories as to why the man is hairless. Represents his
>>> supernatural
>>> >> otherworldliness, a skin suited for a different terrain, Yada yada
>>> yada
>>> >> can't believe I didn't consider the freaking whale itself.
>>> >>
>>> >> I'm going to have to buy a copy because there is a lot I want to go
>>> back
>>> >> to. Got mine from the library
>>> >>
>>> >> And Mark that home alone bit is hilarious. Spot on.
>>> >>
>>> >>
>>> >> On Wednesday, December 16, 2015, David Morris <fqmorris at gmail.com>
>>> wrote:
>>> >>>
>>> >>> I'm sure it is no accident the Moby Dick is so evoked by BM.  The
>>> Judge
>>> >>> is the whale.
>>> >>>
>>> >>> David Morris
>>> >>>
>>> >>> On Wednesday, December 16, 2015, Perry Noid <coolwithdoc at gmail.com>
>>> >>> wrote:
>>> >>>>
>>> >>>> Moby Dick was at the front of my mind throughout. Instead of man
>>> hunting
>>> >>>> a whale, and everything that represents, man is hunting man. I'm
>>> sure u all
>>> >>>> have dissected this one like an injun scalp but since I haven't
>>> really
>>> >>>> discussed it with anyone I'll say this in passing to get it out. I
>>> think the
>>> >>>> lack of sex scenes was certainly indicative of something because we
>>> know sex
>>> >>>> occurs in the book. And I would like to know what anyone thinks of
>>> the
>>> >>>> idiot, his cage and his chain to the judge and why the judge
>>> rescues him.
>>> >>>> One of the rare appearances of the fairer sex is when he is
>>> liberated from
>>> >>>> his cage. And just a random thought: when reading the passage where
>>> the
>>> >>>> judge is walking around with the idiot on the chain my mind seemed
>>> to conjur
>>> >>>> Dracula and Renfield. Was wondering what you smarter folk took from
>>> that
>>> >>>> whole interaction.
>>> >>>>
>>> >>>> On Wednesday, December 16, 2015, Keith Davis <kbob42 at gmail.com>
>>> wrote:
>>> >>>>>
>>> >>>>> Yes, page 247.
>>> >>>>>
>>> >>>>> On Wed, Dec 16, 2015 at 8:26 AM, Perry Noid <coolwithdoc at gmail.com
>>> >
>>> >>>>> wrote:
>>> >>>>>>
>>> >>>>>> I just finished reading that for the first time last week. Had
>>> read
>>> >>>>>> the Road and No Country, was underwhelmed, and was not expecting
>>> to be wowed
>>> >>>>>> like I was with Blood Meridian. I was expecting it to be another
>>> over
>>> >>>>>> praised novel that did not meet expectations but it far exceeded
>>> mine.
>>> >>>>>>
>>> >>>>>> That *is* Blood Meridian right?
>>> >>>>>>
>>> >>>>>>
>>> >>>>>> On Wednesday, December 16, 2015, Keith Davis <kbob42 at gmail.com>
>>> wrote:
>>> >>>>>>>
>>> >>>>>>> ...They rode on. The horses trudged sullenly the alien ground
>>> and the
>>> >>>>>>> round earth rolled beneath them silently milling the greater
>>> void wherein
>>> >>>>>>> they were contained. In the neuter austerity of that terrain all
>>> phenomena
>>> >>>>>>> were bequeathed a strange equality and no one thing nor spider
>>> nor stone nor
>>> >>>>>>> blade of grass could put forth claim to precedence. The very
>>> clarity of
>>> >>>>>>> these articles belied their familiarity, for the eye predicates
>>> the whole on
>>> >>>>>>> some feature or part and here was nothing more luminous than
>>> another and
>>> >>>>>>> nothing more enshadowed and in the optical democracy of such
>>> landscapes all
>>> >>>>>>> preference is made whimsical and a man and a rock become endowed
>>> with
>>> >>>>>>> unguessed kinship.
>>> >>>>>>>
>>> >>>>>>> I'm sure some of you will recognize this...
>>> >>>>>>>
>>> >>>>>>> --
>>> >>>>>>> www.innergroovemusic.com
>>> >>>>>>>
>>> >>>>>
>>> >>>>>
>>> >>>>>
>>> >>>>> --
>>> >>>>> www.innergroovemusic.com
>>> >>>>>
>>> >
>>>
>>
>
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