Thomas Pynchon

Sascha Pöhlmann (Ludwig-Maximilians Universität Munchen)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 3.2.4: American (US) Writing and Culture: Postwar and Contemporary, 1945-present.
Vol. editors: Sofia Ahlberg (Uppsala University), Patrick Chura (University of Akron), Emory Elliott (University of California, Riverside), Dale Enggass (University of Utah), Christopher Hugh Gair (University of Glasgow), Matthew Hofer (University of New Mexico), Stephen E. Meats (Pittsburg State University), Kerry Myler (Birmingham Newman University), Justin Parks (UiT - The Arctic University of Norway), Nick Selby (University of East Anglia)

Dates

Born 8 May 1937
Activity 1957-ongoing

Places

Born in United States
Active in United States

Activities

Primary

Novelist
Story-writer

Resources

Pynchon's Works

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Thomas Pynchon is one of the most important postmodern writers, and his

Gravity's Rainbow

(1973) is – arguably –

the

essential postmodern novel. While this and Pynchon's five other novels, published between 1963 and 2006, attracted critical attention and praise, and while his work continues to be a focus of academic discussion, the author himself is notoriously absent from public view, which has (wrongly) earned him the title of a recluse.

Pynchon refuses to comment on his work in print, with the rare exception of the introduction to his collection of early short stories, Slow Learner (1984); he does not give interviews, and there are only few published photos of him, the best of which date back to 1953, taken from his high school yearbook, and 1955, when he was in the Navy.

Pynchon…

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5311 words

Citation: Pöhlmann, Sascha. "Thomas Pynchon". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 18 February 2006 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=3673, accessed 21 November 2024.]

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