It could have been worse...

[Arthur Fuller]

I've read every single work that William Gaddis has published. I began with
JR and fell in love with his -- mostly the dialogue, but also the
descriptions.

Same goes for Tom Pynchon. I began with V. and moved through his works from
there. I think it's safe to say that V. changed my life.

I'm not exactly sure how to place Gaddis and Pynchon in the same basket,
other than to say that I love them both.

On Tue, Oct 4, 2022 at 9:05 AM Mark Thibodeau <jerkyleboeuf at gmail.com>
wrote:

> I'm ashamed to say this, but the only Gaddis I've read has been JR and The
> Rush for 2nd Place, a collection of essays that came out pretty much on the
> heels of Agape' Agape.
>
> If you're a fan of Gaddis' writing (or hell, just good writing in
> general), and you haven't read The Rush for 2nd Place yet, you've got a
> seriously tasty treat coming to you!
>
> yer old pal Jerky
>
>
> On Mon, Oct 3, 2022 at 10:52 PM Arthur Fuller <fuller.artful at gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
>> 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
>> --
>> Pynchon-L: https://waste.org/mailman/listinfo/pynchon-l
>>
>

-- 
Arthur