Wolfe's use of science/hard sf

David Duffy · 19 Aug 2013, 04:42 · from 2013-August.txt.gz

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From: David.Duffy at qimr.edu.au (David Duffy)
Date: Mon, 19 Aug 2013 14:42:15 +1000
Subject: (urth) Wolfe's use of science/hard sf
In-Reply-To: <1376881853.12663.YahooMailNeo at web160703.mail.bf1.yahoo.com>
References: <1376881853.12663.YahooMailNeo at web160703.mail.bf1.yahoo.com>
Message-ID: <alpine.LMD.2.00.1308191407450.24830 at orpheus.qimr.edu.au>

On Mon, 19 Aug 2013, Marc Aramini wrote:

> And yet for all that ... I've found the vast majority of speculation on 
> Wolfe is random and completely non-rigorous.?Why is the interpretive 
> task so unwieldy in the case of Wolfe?

Because he is a tricksy Modernist. Joyce had to put the chapter headings 
back in _Ulysses_, otherwise it was too hard, he was told.  Similarly - in 
a response to Clute? I can't remember where it was published - Wolfe 
unpacked a ridiculous number of references in one scene from _The Citadel 
of the Autarch_.  Of course, he may have been making them up on the spot, 
which would be even worse ;)

Cheers, David Duffy.

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