Inherent Other

Oh if I could just get to Poland…

Of Pynchon And Vice: America’s Inherent Other (International Pynchon Week), June 09-12, 2010, Lublin, Poland

full name / name of organization:
Zofia Kolbuszewska, The John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin
contact email:
zofkol@kul.lublin.pl
cfp categories:
american
cultural_studies_and_historical_approaches
science_and_culture
theory
twentieth_century_and_beyond

While focusing on AGAINST TH DAY and Pynchon’s eagerly awaited most recent novel, INHERENT VICE, the conference is open to engagement with any aspect of Pynchon’s oeuvre and any Pynchon-related subject. The organizers hope to provide a forum for scholars in various disciplines, ranging from literature through cultural studies to the exact sciences, taking any critical or theoretical approach. There is no participation fee.

All presentations will be in plenary session. Each speaker will be allotted thirty minutes (including discussion). Presentations may take the form of individual papers, media presentations, or panels. Please submit proposals/abstracts (in English) of 500-750 words for individual presentations, or of 1,000-1,500 words for panels.

Deadline for proposals: November 30, 2009
Decisions by January 15, 2010
Proposals/abstracts should be e-mailed to
Zofia Kolbuszewska: zofkol@kul.lublin.pl

All information at http://amstud-lublin.edu.pl/pynchon/

More Pynchon & Inherent Vice

I’ve sadly fallen far behind on things thans to some traveling and a backlog of work.  Here’s some new links that have been sent my way while I’ve been gone from the internets.

First the Inherent Vice trailer from Penguin Press:

Of course the question is who did the narration…

Next is a map of Pynchon’s LA from Wired.

More as I get my act together.

[Edit – I lost my mind and forgot to credit Shane and Austin for the links.  Sorry.]

Inherent Vice

I’m probably behind in finding out about this (stupid grad school), but apparently Pynchon has a new book coming out next year called Inherent Vice.  From the description I found here:

It’s been awhile since Doc Sportello has seen his ex-girlfriend. Suddenly out of nowhere she shows up with a story about a plot to kidnap a billionaire land developer whom she just happens to be in love with. Easy for her to say. It’s the tail end of the psychedelic sixties in L.A., and Doc knows that “love” is another of those words going around at the moment, like “trip” or “groovy,” except that this one usually leads to trouble. Despite which he soon finds himself drawn into a bizarre tangle of motives and passions whose cast of characters includes surfers, hustlers, dopers and rockers, a murderous loan shark, a tenor sax player working undercover, an ex-con with a swastika tattoo and a fondness for Ethel Merman, and a mysterious entity known as the Golden Fang, which may only be a tax dodge set up by some dentists.

In this lively yarn, Thomas Pynchon, working in an unaccustomed genre, provides a classic illustration of the principle that if you can remember the sixties, you weren’t there . . . or . . . if you were there, then you . . . or, wait, is it . . .

Obviously a bit of a switch up from Against the Day, but given the character of Lew Basnight, I can see a certain continuation of theme happening as he goes into a detective novel.

I can’t wait to play spot the Bodine.