Wolfe's Attitude toward his Readers

James Wynn · 15 Aug 2010, 14:41 · from 2010-August.txt.gz

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From: crushtv at gmail.com (James Wynn)
Date: Sun, 15 Aug 2010 09:41:36 -0500
Subject: (urth) Wolfe's Attitude toward his Readers
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Message-ID: <4C67FCA0.7040708 at gmail.com>

> Lee Berman-
> In my opinion Gene Wolfe sometimes puts little "in-jokes"
> into his text which by-pass the characters and go straight from author to reader.
>
> James' Bee as a *"hymen*optera" reference might be an example. We cannot expect
> that residents of the Whorl are using linnaean taxonomy...but we and Wolfe do. And
> that shared understanding could work without any need for the characters to understand

I think Viron must use linnaean taxonomy or a close cognate of it. At 
least is an old system that was employed by the Whorl imagineers of 
Vironese culture in the same way that the old writings of the 
Chrasmological Writings were dredge up willy-nilly.  But you're right 
about the in-jokes. Auk's brother's name is Bustard. Auks and bustards 
are not closely related. But there is a Great Auk and a Great Bustard, 
both flightless, and both recently extinct.

u+16b9

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