Pynchonalia

Pynchon Inspired

• Arnold Roth’s original illustrations for Thomas Pynchon’s 1964 short story “The Secret Integration”
  Arnold Roth’s original illustrations for Thomas Pynchon’s 1964 short story “The Secret Integration” (and a link to the full text of the story)
• Smoking Dope with Thomas Pynchon: This “memoir” by Andrew Gordon is a fun read and a fine slice of late-60s California…
• Surprise Birthday Party for Thomas Pynchon: San Francisco writer Michael Corrigan’s lovely article about him and his pals throwing a surprise party for Pynchon at a local bar.
• Professor Irwin Corey’s Acceptance of the National Book Award for Pynchon: Pynchon was a no-show for the 1974 awards ceremony when he won for Gravity’s Rainbow, so Viking enlisted comedian Irwin Corey to stand in for the author, unbeknownst to the audience. He begins his speech with an emphatic “However…!”
• A suite of short videos illustrating Slow Learner (1984) short stories, via the letters in each story’s title. Interesting approach, a la Zak Smith.

Information, Guides, Background, Etc. for Pynchon Novels

• Companion to Paul Thomas Anderson’s 2014 film Inherent Vice : Victor Obeck’s expertly assembled blow-by-blow guide to Anderson’s film. Great to have at hand while watching!
• Detailed Plot Grid of Against the Day : Readers tackling this very long novel will find Prof. Kirsten Silva Gruesz’s guide very helpful.
• The Great Lightbulb Conspiracy: The Phoebus cartel engineered a shorter-lived lightbulb and gave birth to planned obsolescence. Yup, Byron the Bulb is barely fiction! Fascinating article by Markus Krajewski.
• A Gravity’s Rainbow Character Map showing how the major characters are connected (PDF)