/lit/ - Literature

>>14636465
Probably the royalties from V, The Crying of Lot 49, and Gravity's Rainbow. Through the universities teaching these books alone would be enough to survive off. Each class has roughly 30-40 students throughout hundreds of universities in the US and Canada, and he's been regularly taught in literature classes since 69. That'd be enough to live off of for a while.

>What did he do [...] in the 17 years between Gravity's Rainbow and Vineland?
Weed

>>14636465
Supposedly he was an engineer or something at some point so maybe that

>>14636465
Evidence suggests he had already started Mason & Dixon during that time so he could’ve won some fellowships and grants from showing that work-in-progress. He is also from an old money family and was very good at making rich friends, might’ve lived with a lover, or friends might’ve recognized his genius and supported him as patrons. Don’t forget he also probably got some decent royalties from his published books, GR was a favorite to win the Pulitzer but they didn’t give an award that year, and Lot 49 was a big hit, V. Also got good reviews.

>>14636559
>friends might’ve recognized his genius and supported him as patrons
how do i get to this point?

>>14636465
>lefty pseudo revolutionary bs
Like what?

>>14636465

Who the fuck is this Chuck E. Cheese looking motherfucker? I refuse to believe that Thomas Pynchon looks like this.

>>14636559
Hi Tom hows it going

https://users.clas.ufl.edu/agordon/pynchon.htm

https://thomaspynchon.com/playing-bridge-with-thomas-pynchon/

>>14636587
He looks like this now.

>>14636901
that's bananas!

>>14636901
He does have the madman look

>>14636465
>What did he do for work in the 17 years between Gravity's Rainbow and Vineland?
Worked on M&D but IIRC he complained about writer's block in a letter he sent someone. So he probably was just NEETing and thinking of what he could write for a few years.
>Surely the royalties were not enough to live two decades on.
They almost certainly were. GR sold a lot. Like millions. Pynch Made It.

>>14636465
>Surely the royalties were not enough to live two decades on.

1) he worked. he's educated in mathematics and engineering. he probably had some kind of stemlord job

2) greatest generation and baby boomers could literally raise a family on a single income with just a high school education

3) even if he didn't work he probably had plenty saved up from when he did.

4) he was in the navy and probably collected veterans' benefits as well

>>14636565
be social
be white
be wealthy
have connections
don't be a sperg

he got 500k through the macarthur fellowship in 1988

>>14636492
they were assigning students in Berkeley to read V. in '64

>>14637627
>dont be a sperg
nigga were on a pynchon thread, everything here is "sperg"

>>14639110
lol filtered.

>>14637508
He had a sophomore level engineering education. His training was in technical writing and the Navy.
>>14638543
this is probably what he lived off of in addition to savings from his Boeing job and friends.

>>14639307
>only sees potential through a sheet of paper

Top boom