GR translation: pitched out over the sea of ruins

Laura Kelber laurakelber at gmail.com
Mon Feb 17 20:44:30 UTC 2025


That was my first thought. But why the comparison to maritime things that
pitch?

If he means pitched, like a roof, why not make a comparison to the missing
roofs themselves?

On Mon, Feb 17, 2025, 3:22 PM Mike Jing <gravitys.rainbow.cn at gmail.com>
wrote:

> It certainly could suggest "pitching" like a ship does. However, here the
> word "pitched" seems to be a past participle used as an adjective, so I
> think it's more likely to simply mean "thrust", as in "sticking out",
> especially with the word "out" immediately following it.
>
>
>
> On Mon, Feb 17, 2025 at 1:08 AM Laura Kelber <laurakelber at gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
>> Given that he compares the rooms to prows and crow's nests, this
>> definition seems most likely:
>>
>> (of a moving ship, aircraft, or vehicle) rock or oscillate around a
>> lateral axis, so that the front and back move up and down.
>> "the little steamer pressed on, pitching gently"
>>
>> So the rooms, unsupported by walls, are swaying above the ruins.
>>
>> On Mon, Feb 17, 2025, 12:47 AM Mike Jing <gravitys.rainbow.cn at gmail.com>
>> wrote:
>>
>>> V373.7-11, P379.6-10    Smooth facets of buildings have given way to
>>> cobbly
>>> insides of concrete blasted apart, all the endless-pebbled rococo just
>>> behind the shuttering. Inside is outside. Ceiling-less rooms open to the
>>> sky, wall-less rooms pitched out over the sea of ruins in prows, in
>>> crow’s-nests. . . .
>>>
>>> What does "pitched" mean here?
>>> --
>>> Pynchon-L: https://waste.org/mailman/listinfo/pynchon-l
>>>
>>


More information about the Pynchon-l mailing list