[lit-ideas] Re: A word from a founder...
- From: Mike Geary <gearyservice@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Wed, 15 Jan 2014 15:17:10 -0600
I had just moved to Seattle when I discovered Phil-Lit. It was an oasis of
intellectual life for me. I'm not an intellectual as you all well know,
but I still like to throw in my two cents worth and sometimes I even think
about the topic at hand. My lack of respect (?) or familiarity with the
mechanics of such discussions caused some huffy backlash from some on the
old Phil-Lit, but I have thickish skin. I apologized for not genuflecting
before entering the pew and that seemed to mollify some folks. Still it
wasn't until Robert Paul sent a note off-list saying that he often enjoyed
my humor that kept me on board. So y'all got him to blame. Damn him!
There I did it for you. I ain't scared of him. I remember with fondness
arguing with the two Larrys (Helm and Kramer). LH has always tolerated the
error in my ways of thinking, but LK -- not so much. And though it's
disagreement that makes the list interesting, still it's fun to find out
that you're not alone in the world. I remember rather distinctly when
JL first came on board. I once addressed him by: "Say hey, Jorge,..." He
wrote back off list asking me to please address him as Jorge Luis. That
tickled me to no end. I apologized and agreed. Sorry again, JL.
Jorge-Luis has been very amusing to me, but I seldom am able to follow his
argumentation -- logic is definitely not my strong suite and especially not
logic that looks more like calculus than language. Like Walter, I too
regret the loss of female voices on the list. As the poem I recently
posted ("Eve Thinking" by Lucille Clifton) suggests, women seem (to me at
least) to have a different -- more immediate (?) -- sense of the world than
men. Whether that is due to biological or socio-cultural causes or is all
in my imagination, I don't know. But I do miss their butting in now and
then. There is not anyone who has contributed to the list(s) whom I have
disliked. As would be expected, some have seemed closer to my particular
mind frame than others, but perhaps I have learned more from those others.
I have taken much pleasure from the list and some learning. I thank
everyone for participating and sharing their perspectives on life in all
it's aspects and I hope I haven't offended too many. I wish I could thank
each one individually, but I know I'd leave some off due to my spotty mind
and though no one would probably give a rat's ass, I would. And besides
this is a venue for thought and debate, not socializing.
Yeah. Enough! Basta! Zut!
Memphis Mike
On Wed, Jan 15, 2014 at 1:50 PM, Walter C. Okshevsky <wokshevs@xxxxxx>wrote:
> I believe your memory serves you well, Robert. Denis was a professor of
> Russian
> literature, if memory serves me, and David was, like A. Sharon, both loved
> and
> hated, not always by the same people or by the same people at the same
> time. I
> also remember George Trail for his wonderful sense of humor. And Howard
> Hastings, who I hope is full prof somewhere by now. And then there was the
> fellow who lived in a Westphalia VW van who had a solid grasp of Kant's
> moral
> theory. I forget his name. The internationally renowned Kant scholar, Roger
> Sullivan, would chime in occasionally. Remember the fellow who would post
> only
> under the influence of a bottle of Chianti? He had a penchant for fixing
> people's "little red wagon." I also recall we had a lot more women on
> board in
> those days. I don't know what scared most of them away. Mike, Omar, Ursula,
> Richard, Beatrix, Carol, and Erin may have more to add to this walk down
> memory
> lane.
>
> Cheers, Walter
>
>
> Quoting Robert Paul <rpaul@xxxxxxxx>:
>
> > Some will remember the ur-list of what we now call lit-ideas: Phil-Lit
> > (Philosophy and Literature). It was founded by (I think this is right) D.
> > G. (David) Myers, and the late Denis Dutton, sometime before the turn of
> > the century. It died in 2003.
> >
> > While PL existed, David taught English, at Texas A&M. He later left Texas
> > A&M, and went to Ohio State University; now, on the verge of his tenure
> > decision there (about which he didn't seem very sanguine), he's left Ohio
> > State. I ran across this essay by him on <insidehighered.com>.
> >
> >
> >
>
> http://www.insidehighered.com/views/2014/01/14/english-professor-scans-landscape-upon-forced-retirement-essay
> >
> >
> > Robert Paul
> >
>
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