It could have been worse...

[Arthur Fuller]

William is one of the most undersung writers of American fiction. Perhaps
that is due to his penchant for extremely long sentences, but ok I'm a tad
weird about this, that's what I loved! But that was just the initial grab,
the rest was the characters he painted, and the unlikeliest of plots. JR,
The Recognitions, etc. The man was a master craftsman.

On Mon, Oct 3, 2022 at 7:26 PM rich <richard.romeo at gmail.com> wrote:

> me, too
>
> William Gaddis
>
>
>
> let them have their narrow view
>
> the pinched gaze
>
> you laid out and wrestled with the real hydra-headed tentacles:
>
> the law, money, revelation
>
>
>
> from the inside
>
> your characters, the systems themselves
>
> embodiments of them
>
> those who through their speech, you said
>
> constructed a conspiracy of language against us all.
>
>
>
> you had to work for it, of course
>
> your ambition early was evident
>
> you dropped a ton on them
>
> how could Harvard understand
>
> you were so far ahead
>
>
>
> and hence, banished to the wilderness of corporate speak
>
> you had a family, a daughter, to support
>
> I imagine
>
>
>
> you as William Holden in Network
>
> an office drunk exec passed his prime, cynical
>
> but human shot through and through
>
> with simple human decency
>
>
>
> you didn't lose
>
> as you saw all going mad around you
>
> strings and shining heads, pulled pols
>
> monsignors
>
> concerned with feeding those tentacled monsters
>
> you knew from experience
>
>
>
> what itook so long between missives
>
> you weren’t part of the easy game
>
> all they knew
>
>
>
> you wrote ad copy for their suits
>
> and nailed their connections at night
>
> a birds-eye view few could emulate
>
>
>
> characters easy to deconstruct
>
> not so complex systems
>
> of what knots and fancy tie look alikes.
>
>
>
> and yet, despite all that, you were funny while doing it.
>
>
>
> Of course, you were close to done before proper recognition
>
> Bernhard and Oblomov brought some solace
>
> sprinting to finish off  your life’s work, often dropped
>
> distilled in the end into a short rant about the mechanization of the arts
>
>
>
> if it wasn’t beautiful for someone, it didn’t exist
>
> you once wrote long ago
>
> you hadn’t forgotten.
>
>
>
> The awards came but your throat was now hoarse
>
> abiding as the artist defined as the human shambles
>
> following the work around
>
>
>
> you didn’t make many appearances
>
> you wanted to be met half-way
>
> how much more rewarding that is,  you said
>
>
>
> than transcribing reality
>
> and telling you everything so explicitly
>
>
>
> nothing hidden in the margins
>
>
> On Mon, Oct 3, 2022 at 5:30 PM Arthur Fuller <fuller.artful at gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
>> I think that William Gaddis is my fave writer of all time. *JR* absolutely
>> slayed me, and after that I read every word he ever published. *The
>> Recognitions*, wow, what can I say that hasn't been said, and the few
>> others as well.
>>
>> On Mon, Oct 3, 2022 at 11:24 AM Allen Ruch <quail at shipwrecklibrary.com>
>> wrote:
>>
>> > Oh my God I hope this is truly an elaborate hoax! It’s a shame Gaddis
>> > isn’t around to write a book about this…
>> >
>> > (But you are right…at least it wasn’t Remedios Varo!)
>> >
>> > —Q
>> >
>> > From: Pynchon-l <pynchon-l-bounces at waste.org> on behalf of Erik T.
>> Burns <
>> > eburns at gmail.com>
>> > Date: Thursday, September 29, 2022 at 3:56 PM
>> > To: pynchon -l <pynchon-l at waste.org>
>> > Subject: It could have been worse...
>> > it could have been a Remedios Varo...
>> >
>> > A Frida Kahlo Drawing Was Destroyed to Make NFTs (vice.com)
>> > <https://www.vice.com/en/article/aken7k/rida-kahlo-nft-mexico>
>> > --
>> > Pynchon-L: https://waste.org/mailman/listinfo/pynchon-l
>> > --
>> > Pynchon-L: https://waste.org/mailman/listinfo/pynchon-l
>> >
>>
>>
>> --
>> Arthur
>> --
>> Pynchon-L: https://waste.org/mailman/listinfo/pynchon-l
>>
>

-- 
Arthur