Thomas Pynchon


Thomas Ruggles Pynchon, Jr. (born May 8, 1937) is an American novelist,
noted for his seemingly-absurd but thoroughly erudite works.

He was born in Glen Cove, Long Island, New York to Thomas Ruggles Pynchon,
Sr. and Katherine Frances Bennett Pynchon.

Pynchon graduated from Oyster Bay High School in 1953. He attended the
Engineering Physics division at Cornell University, but left at the end of
his second year to join the US Navy. He returned to Cornell in 1957 to
pursue a degree in English. His first short story, "A Small Rain", was
published in the Cornell Writer in May, 1959. He received his BA in June, 1959.

After graduation he began work on his first novel. During this time he
worked as an engineering aide at Boeing, writing technical documents. V. was
published in 1963 and won a William Faulkner Foundation Award for best first
novel of the year.

Pynchon received a MacArthur Fellowship in 1989.

Around the publication of his third novel, Gravity's Rainbow in 1973,
Pynchon became notorious for his avoidance of public view, and many rumors
circulated about his identity. Only a few photos of him are known to exist.
Shortly before the publication of Mason & Dixon in 1997, he was tracked down
and filmed by CNN. Angered by this invasion of his privacy, he agreed to
give CNN an interview in exchange for not revealing his photographs. When
asked about his reclusive nature, he replied, "My belief is that 'recluse'
is a code word generated by journalists... meaning, 'doesn't like to talk to
reporters.'"

Pynchon lives in Manhattan, New York City with his wife and agent, Melanie
Jackson, and their son, Jackson Pynchon. He is known to be a fan of Roky
Erickson.

It has been rumored that Pynchon's next book will be about the life and love
stories of Sofia Kovalevskaya, which he allegedly studied in Germany.

Works

   * V. (1963), winner of William Faulkner Foundation Award
   * The Crying of Lot 49 (1966), winner of Richard and Hilda Rosenthal
     Foundation Award
   * Gravity's Rainbow (1973), National Book Award for fiction, judges'
     unanimous selection for Pulitzer Prize overruled by advisory board,
     awarded William Dean Howells Medal of the American Academy of Arts and
     Letters in 1975 (award declined)
   * Slow Learner (1984), collection of early short stories
   * Vineland (1990)
   * Mason & Dixon (1997)