Notes from the Concordance to THE COMPLETE WORKES OF QUIN--entries 11/28/2003 from the ongoing Winter hiatus.
Note: Perforce, the editor must organize the placeholders [arabic numerals, 1, 2, 3, and forward] for the notes out of order within the text, as there are items within this most recent and surprising entry which must be dealt with first, second, third, and so on What this means for the reader is that he or she will be required to jump backwards and forwards throughout the Quin text. The notes, per usual, will be assembled below in numerical order. We hope that this additional exercise upon ou rreaders' parts will cause no great inconvenience. We advise a thorough through reading the text below, indeed a reading of several times over would do the reader no harm and probably great good, prior to attacking the deeper level of the notes given here. Because of the slipping one in on us nature of the November 28, 2003 entry, we will be required to go back through the text of this entry at a later date and add the placeholders within the text. For the readers convenience, we will include direct quotations from the entry here.
Notes from the Concordance to THE COMPLEATE WORKES OF QUIN--entry, 28 November 2003
(1) from the text--
i did not read the wasteland until i was fifteen... maybe i looked at it when i was fourteen... (1a) it would've been because of that bobby dylan desolation row... (1b) i wouldn't necessarily cousel believing what beth writes.... (1c)
all of this fiction...(1d)
(1a) Truly, this citation alone requires pages of analysis. Firstly, the editor holds to the previous report that Quin actually did read The Wasteland when he was around eight years of age or thereabouts. Despite his claim here, that he was in his mid-teens, it is well known that Quin's early IQ tests, administered by the time he was seven years old, scored in the over 180 range, that his father, John Frederick Withey, taught him to read at the age of four using the Illiad as his text [an early experiment in the toughest of loves, the gory details of which are not appropriate in this context], that he began first grade at the notorious Raquet Elementary School at age five, and refused at that time to read a text entitled THE NUTTY SQUIRREL on the grounds that it was beneath his abilities. Based on these solid facts, the editor believes that the earlier report of Quin's reading of The Wasteland at the age of eight is right in line with what was going on in the youthful Quin's mind and life at that time.
(1b) bobby dylan--a popular jewish folk and protest singer who came to fame in the 1960s at the height of the Viet Nam war. Although claiming at that time that he came from the wilds of Oklahoma or other more folkish climes, Dylan actually hailed from Minnesota. The "Desolation Row" referred to here is the name of a song by this artist from the album Highway__ [the editor is unsure if this highway is 61 or 51 but it is one which Quin frequently referred to as "the one running out of Memphis" We invite our readers to supply the correct number for this highway in the comments section of this entry] Revisited.
(1c) i wouldn't necessarily cousel believing what beth writes....
The editorial staff can only believe that this is another of Quin's little jokes. As stated with what we thought was perfect clarity in notes to the entry of 11/20/2003, it is widely held that 'Beth' is a fictional character within Quin's mythos, which means that she could in no way actually 'write' anything herself. As was also stated, imbuing one's fictional characters with the tasks and powers of the living is something that their authors often do, and which some think a sign of burgeoning neurosis.
cousel--we believe this to be a simple typo, and that the actual word intended is counsel. It should be noted, however, that Quin frequently uses various spellings of words to demonstrate the continually evolving nature of the English language, and to harken back to memories, as recent as four centuries past, when sundry spellings of the same word were considered the norm. For a fine example of such spellings, see any edition of the Complete Works of John Donne.
(1d) all of this fiction--We believe that Quin is incorporating two, three, possibly more, meanings of the word 'fiction' here. Firstly, "all this" could refer to a close reading of this blog, secondly, 'all this' could refer to the greater world and life at large. It is well known that many gurus, and teachers of the mysteries (of which Quin is definitely a one, rather in the Mojo vein) instruct us to view our lives as a passing scene, or more recently, since the advent of moving pictures, a movie in which we play a part. This 'viewing' technique is often used in instructing students in the modes of meditation. Finally, Quin frequently uses the term 'fiction' as the term 'theory' is used by academicians and French Theorists (Baudrillard, et al.). As a point of clarification, we provide a brief illustration. It is said that at the U.N a European Ambassador or such like held forth at great length and with much specific detail about the necessary steps for the rebuilding of a certain nation. At the conclusion of his address, one of his colleagues rose and commented, "I understand that this plan will work in practice, but will it work in theory?" This business of theory is serious stuff folks. We highly reccommend that all of our readers bone up a bit. The fastest and simplest way is probalby to read a biography of Marx, very easy and entertaining reading, while cross referencing with Derrida (deconstruction) then find some Baudrillard (the site recommended in a previous entry is a good enough place to start) and learn about technology and consumption. The Medium is the Massage, by Marshall McLuhan is another decent, though quite different starting point. We advise boning up not because there is any desire to turn anyone's coats into those of godless commies, but because the people running and or ruling the world right now all know this stuff. They are educated with this information from very early ages, learning this sort of thing rather than being required to read exerpts from THE NUTTY SQUIRREL and its ilk, and it does us no harm at all to understand why they are doing the seemingly mysterious things they do.
(2) from the text--
anyway i am gonna let beth take over in writing mostly because i think she's funnier than i am...
See note (1c) above. We observe that perhaps Quin views the 'Beth' character as his female alter ego, if this is indeed the case, then his comment that "she's funnier than i am . . ." becomes slightly more feasible.
(3) from the text--
happily, despite the length of my marriage, (3b) i do sneak into some categories of 'queer'.(3a)
(3a) From Webster's New Universal Unabridged Dictionary [the editor apologizes for not having the OED at hand. Frankly it is too expensive to keep onhand. We welcome donations of the OED to the editorial staff at any time anyone feels moved a donation so to make. This would be of great assistance in our continuing work on the Concordance. Please feel free to let us know in the comment section should you like to make this, or any other donation to this work, and we will send you the information necessary].
queer--adj. 1. strange or odd from a conventional viewpoint; unusually different; singular; a queer notion of justice. 2. of a questionable nature or character; suspicious; shady: something queer about the language of the prospectus kept investors away. 3. not feeling physically right or well; giddy, faint, or qualmish: to feel queer. 4. mentally unbalanced or deranged. 5.Slang. a. homosexual. b. bad, worthless, or counterfeit. --v.t. 6. to spoil, ruin. 7. to put (a person) in a hopeless or disadvantageous situation as to success, favor. etc. 8. to jeopardize.--n. Slang. 9.a homosexual. 10. counterfiet money. [<G quer oblique, cross, adverse]--queerly, adv. --queerness, n.
(3b) Please see notes to the Concordance, for 11/20/2003 in the 11/25/2003 entry of this blog. As explained in note (2) Quin's marriage to anyone, let alone 'Beth' is widely disputed.
(4) from the text--
so the jewish blood in my family would come down through my father's mother's father. (4a) my understanding is that "jewishness" is something considered to be passed on maternally within much of the faith itself,(4b) so my ability to claim to be a godless jew, as well as a godless episcopalian (4c) is terrible weak and i am mournful so.(4d) thus also such african and or native american descent as i might claim through my father's father's father is sort of iffy. i'm sad. (4e)
(4a) Again we are forced to mention Quin's father, John Frederick Withey, who according to Quin, asserted that his (JFW's) mother's father had indeed been all or at least somewhat jewish. This may clarify Quin's continuing familiarity in writing in terms of Jews and Jewishness, as we have observed that many of our Jewish acquaintances in this city where more Jews reside than in the state of Israel, discuss their ancestry, and of the participation of their people in history, the making of Hollywood, and the current media in just such terms.
(4b) This is the understanding of the editorial staff and its many jewish acquaintances as well.
(4c) Ambiguous. Quin seems to be indicating here that he can claim to be niether a 'godless jew' nor a 'godless epicopalian'. It is a well known fact that, due in large part to the devoutness of his mother, Quin lived in the charasmatic glossalalia singing Episcopal Community founded by Graham Pulkingham, originating from The Episcopal Church of the Redeemer in the diocese of Houston, and that, on the rare occasions when he is now seen in an Episcopal Church, he frequently genuflects to the ground [editor's term] upon entry.
(4d) is terrible weak and i am mournful so--A further note on Quin's somewhat suspect ethnicity. He has often been heard to relate that his ancestry may be traced through African-American lines in addition to his Mayflower and possible Jewish heritage. This may perhaps account for his comfort while attending Ryan Junior High School in Houston, Texas where he was one of approximately 14 non-African-Americans in a school 1800 students, and his extreme discomfort in schools where the ratio was reversed.
(4e) please see above.
[it is with regret that the editor must now post this entry into the Concordance, to be finished at a later date. We suggest a careful study the urtext entry of Quin and the images below in the interim.]
2:41:35 PM [Macro error: The file "E:\www\#itemTemplate.txt" wasn't found.]
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