Will we know if Thomas Pynchon dies?

Submitted by BananaBeach007 t3_z5suaf in books

he is an author who has inspired many and has made his mark on writing. He is an incredible recluse and takes it to a whole new level. Howard Hughes despite being a recluse had a large network of people - so when he passed it was known. The same can be said about Salinger. But it takes decades at a time for Pynchon to be photographed. He doesn't seem to have the extensive networks as those above, is very private, and doesn't have a publicist. So it begs the question will we know when Pynchon passes, or will it be something that comes to light years after the event.

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divinationobject t1_ixy4kb6 wrote

Pynchon's apparently only a recluse inasmuch as he has chosen not to engage with the media, to an extreme degree, but in other respects lives apparently lives a normal life. I'm sure we will learn of his death, if not immediately then relatively soon after.

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shillyshally t1_ixxvz4j wrote

He lives in nyc, last seen 2018. His son would probably know if his father had died.

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wildadragon t1_ixxvn2k wrote

I would assume so because

In 1998, over 120 letters that Pynchon had written to his longtime agent, Candida Donadio, were donated by the family of a private collector, Carter Burden, to the Pierpont Morgan Library in New York City. The letters ranged from 1963 to 1982, thus covering some of the author's most creative and prolific years. Although the Morgan Library originally intended to allow scholars to view the letters, at Pynchon's request the Burden family and Morgan Library agreed to seal these letters until after Pynchon's death.

So when he dies they'd release them.

Source

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JackieGigantic t1_ixy1jvo wrote

Oh fuck, I guess I'll cling to that upside in my grief later on.

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Pointing_Monkey t1_ixy8aju wrote

It will definitely be made public. The question is whether it will be through a publisher/family statement, or some scummy reporter that spends their time looking over death registrations.

Isn't he only really a recluse insofar as he doesn't do public appearances? It seems he became friends with Salman Rushdie (or at least met with him) after the fatwa. So it's not like there aren't people who have contact with him.

J.D. Salinger's death was announced in 2010 by a literary representative, even though he hadn't published anything since 1965.

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fail_whale_fan_mail t1_ixynlaa wrote

What about looking over death registrations makes someone scummy? And I sincerely doubt any reporter wastes their time consistently checking death registrations.

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violetmemphisblue t1_ixzmh8m wrote

I don't think going through death registrations is necessarily scummy (its definitely less scummy, in my opinion, than birth registrations and then making public the details of babies whose parents have worked to keep private). I do think its sort of scummy to press family on making statements or revealing autopsy findings or things like that. The fact of the death might be relevant news but anything beyond that, I think, should remain private. (I understand many don't agree with that,though, and its not likely to happen!)

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ActonofMAM t1_ixzi8kt wrote

Reporters call that "legwork" and it is absolutely someone's job to do so.

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fail_whale_fan_mail t1_ixzmzda wrote

Yeah, maybe to verify after you get a tip or something. Checking the logs consistently would be a huge amount of time and effort for very little reward. And they're not even publicly available in many areas.

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ActonofMAM t1_ixzuh5c wrote

I have a journalism degree, although I haven't worked in the field for many years. You?

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fail_whale_fan_mail t1_ixzxb85 wrote

I worked as a journalist for about five years and left the field early-covid. We'd comb through police reports and court logs, but never death records. Pretty sure recent ones weren't publicly available where I worked and it would have been a wildly poor use of our time to request and read through all the names if they were. We heard about the deaths we wrote about through a variety of sources and would follow-up with relevant officials to verify.

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Pointing_Monkey t1_iy2pyw8 wrote

If the family don't want to publicly reveal the death, what right do the press have to announce it?

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postmodulator t1_iy1ur3u wrote

We’ll see. I think I figured out why he was so media-averse and I’m wondering if I’ll ever get confirmation or not, but if I was going to, it would be after he passes away.

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BananaBeach007 OP t1_iy779nt wrote

Would be a bit interesting to find out what he's been up to in all this time. Maybe some unpublished works might be released.

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