All Pynchon--and Rushdie. Did we know this?

[Mark Kohut]

In the NYC Town Hall gathering on Feb 22, 1989 in support
of Salman Rushdie, statements by many and various writers were read.
Many came in but surely many were not able to be read.

[full disclosure, I was there but outside with thousands of others
since I could not get inside with those thousands. Therefore I could hear
nothing that the speakers, led by Norman Mailer and
Susan Sonatag, said.]

Thomas Pynchon, United States---- [under The international Response]:
 " Our thanks to you and to Marianne Wiggins, for recalling those of us who
write
to our duty as heretics, for reminding us once again that power is as much
our sworn enemy
as unreason, for making us look braver, wiser, more useful than we think we
are. We pray for your
continuing good health, safety and lightness of spirit"           ---The
Rushdie File, 1990, p.173

For those who might not know, Marianne Higgins was/is, first, a very good
writer herself. But she was
at the time also married to Salman Rushdie. Earlier at this event her
statement was read in which she said,
among other things, that two writers had gone into hiding over *The Satanic
Verses--*one to save his life; the other, of her own free will, in
solidarity. I do not know if they went into hiding together but I assume so
although later when asked if going into hiding had
ruined their marriage, Salman said No, we had already moved apart.

Pynchon, deep feminist as I am always saying,  is the ONLY writer among all
those who sent statements, who mentioned
Ms. Wiggins. Ms. Wiggins' statement, read early by Susan Sontag also said,
" Writers everywhere have been weighed and measured
by an edict from Iran. We are a dangerous breed and always have been,
because words outlive their authors, words can emanate from silence,
words can find their way from hidden places. Only fear can stop a writer
writing. Only fear can stop a book from being sold. Fear dies with
the individual---the written word, which we celebrate officially today, is
one unleashed, colossal, unrepentant, joyous, passionate, expansive and
courageous monster, Rejoice in it."

I quote this all including that Sontag read it because it probably came
early to her to PEN, which she was heavily involved in, may have been
President
at this time, dunno, you can look it up, and I am willing to bet Pynchon
read it early and is alluding to it/her in his statement. ---our duty as
heretics.

Thomas Pynchon did not sign a letter that many hundreds of writers did in
support of Salman Rushdie....