a lurker asks a question

Matthew Keeley · 30 Sep 2008, 00:41 · from 2008-September.txt.gz

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From: matthew.keeley.1 at gmail.com (Matthew Keeley)
Date: Mon, 29 Sep 2008 20:41:15 -0400
Subject: (urth) a lurker asks a question
In-Reply-To: <20080930003351.GA1310@craft>
References: <BB19A147-F9FF-4FFC-AC13-53CB225DFBD7 at io.com>
	<404259.89423.qm at web59604.mail.ac4.yahoo.com>
	<20080930003351.GA1310@craft>
Message-ID: <44fb53d10809291741g5eae01f8l861b5353ef583aa0 at mail.gmail.com>

On Mon, Sep 29, 2008 at 8:33 PM, Gwern Branwen <gwern0 at gmail.com> wrote:

>
>
> As it happens, I am currently reading the collection of Wolfe interviews
> _Shadows of the New Sun_, and in it Wolfe says something along the lines of
> 'Severian is an intellectual who doesn't know he's an intellectual', which
> accords with Thecla and Severian's conversations.
>
> (Wolfe also mentions Borges as a favorite writer 3 or 4 times, and I think
> twice explicitly says Ultan was a nod to him.)
>
> --
> gwern
> Montenegro Glock ISI Sayeret CBOT BATF chameleon Visa/BCC IACIS UPI
>

Great post. Perhaps Borges was the "real" reason for the scene - I can't
think of anywhere else in The Book of the New Sun where such a scene with a
Borges analogue would fit quite so well, though of course there are plenty
of other Borges references in New Sun (i.e. Baldanders).

I wonder if there are any similar scenes in other works that influenced
Wolfe? I, Claudius maybe? Or could it be something leftover from an earlier
version of the story? Perhaps it was important to the novella "The Feast of
St. Catherine?" I gather that story focused a lot on writing? Or maybe I'm
wrong - I don't have my "references" (i.e. Castle of Days) with me at
school.

-Matt, idly speculating

-Matt
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